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This tribe’s land was cut in two by US borders. Its fight for access could help dozens of others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

For four hours, Raymond V. Buelna, a cultural leader for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, sat on a metal bench in a concrete holding space at the U.S.-Mexico border, separated from the two people he was taking to an Easter ceremony on tribal land in Arizona and wondering when they might be released.It was February 2022 and Buelna, a U.S. citizen, was driving the pair — both from the sovereign Native American nation’s related tribal community in northwestern Mexico — from their home to the reservation southwest of Tucson. They’d been authorized by U.S. officials to cross the border. But when Buelna asked an agent why they were detained, he was told to wait for the officer who brought him in.“They know that we’re coming,” said Buelna, who has made the trip for a variety of ceremonies for 20 years. “We did all this work and then we’re still sitting there.”Now, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe is trying to change this — for themselves and potentially dozens of other tribes in the U.S. Tr...

Israel, Islamic Jihad reach cease-fire to end 5 days of fighting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire late Saturday, ending five days of intense fighting that left 33 Palestinians, including at least 13 civilians, dead. Two people in Israel were killed by rocket fire. The cease-fire took effect just after 10 p.m., with a last-minute burst of rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes stretching several minutes past the deadline announced by Egypt.While the calm brought a sense of relief to Gaza’s more than 2 million people and hundreds of thousands of Israelis who had been confined to bomb shelters in recent days, the agreement did nothing to address the underlying issues that have fueled numerous rounds of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office put out a statement thanking Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi for his efforts to restore calm. Egypt frequently acts a...

One killed as tornado hits south Texas near the Gulf coast, damaging dozens of homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

LAGUNA HEIGHTS, Texas (AP) — One person was killed when his mobile home was crushed as a powerful tornado tore through a community near the southern tip of Texas before dawn Saturday, damaging dozens of residences and knocking down power lines, authorities said.At least 10 others were hospitalized, including two people who were listed in critical condition, said Tom Hushen, the emergency management coordinator for Cameron County. Many residents also suffered cuts and bruises.The tornado hit at about 4 a.m. as most people were in their homes asleep in the unincorporated community of Laguna Heights, located on the mainland across from South Padre Island, off the Gulf of Mexico. The county has among the highest poverty rates in Texas and is dotted with substandard housing.There was no advance warning. Instead, the first warning of a tornado “went out at the same time it was touching ground,” said Barry Goldsmith, a warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in ...

DeSantis in Iowa warns of GOP ‘culture of losing’ as weather sidelines Trump’s event in the state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — Warning of a Republican “culture of losing,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sought Saturday to weaken former President Donald Trump’s grip on the GOP as he courted voters in battleground Iowa.DeSantis, expected to announce his 2024 presidential campaign any day, briefly flipped burgers and pork chops at a picnic fundraiser in Sioux Center that drew hundred conservatives to the northwest corner of the state. At the podium, he highlighted his willingness to embrace conservative cultural fights and sprinkled his remarks with indirect jabs at Trump.“Governing is not about entertaining. Governing is not about building a brand or talking on social media and virtue signaling,” said DeSantis, who wore a blue button-down shirt without a tie or jacket. “It’s ultimately about winning and producing results.”Trump, a candidate since November, had hoped to demonstrate his political strength with a large outdoor rally in Des Moines, the capital, later in the day, but he ...

Michigan boy uses a slingshot to save his sister from being abducted from backyard, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

ALPENA, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan girl was able to escape an attempted kidnapping when her brother used a slingshot to strike the would-be attacker, authorities said this week. Mlive.com reports that the Michigan State Police arrested the accused assailant in the city of Alpena on Wednesday. The 17-year-old’s name has not been released though he has been charged as an adult with one count of attempted kidnapping/child enticement, one count of attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of assault and battery.Michigan State Police said in a news release that the 8-year-old girl was in her backyard when the alleged assailant came out of the woods, grabbed her and covered her mouth. Authorities said the girl’s brother, 13, hit the alleged attacker in the head and chest using a slingshot. Police later arrested the 17-year-old based on another family member’s description of the suspect. Authorities also said the teenager had visible wounds fr...

End of Title 42 hasn’t stopped migrants’ push north to US from across the Americas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — For weeks, Solangel Contreras raced.The Venezuelan migrant and her family of 22 trudged through the dense jungles of the Darien Gap and hopped borders across Central America.They joined thousands of other migrants from across the Hemisphere in a scramble to reach the United States-Mexico border and request asylum.They raced, unsure what changing migratory rules and the end of a pandemic-era border restriction, Title 42, would mean for their chances at a new life in the U.S.But after missing that cutoff, robbed in Guatemala and crossing into Mexico shortly after the program ended Thursday night, Contreras, 33, had only one certainty in her mind: “We’re going to keep going.”Confusion has rippled from the U.S.-Mexico border to migrant routes across the Americas, as migrants scramble to understand complex and ever-changing policies. And while Title 42 has come to an end, the flow of migrants headed north has not.From the rolling mountains and jungles in Central Americ...

Greece protests arrest of mayoral candidate in Albania accused of buying votes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The detention of a mayoral candidate belonging to the Greek minority in Albania has raised tensions between the two neighboring countries.Greece’s Foreign Ministry released a statement Saturday demanding the release of Dionysis-Fredi Beleri, a candidate for mayor of the Albanian city of Himare, which has a strong Greek minority presence.Greek media reported that Beleri was arrested by Albanian police early Friday on charges of vote buying, two days ahead of local elections. A court confirmed Saturday that he would remain in custody.The Greek ministry’s announcement implies that the case could negatively impact Albania’s application to join the European Union.“Today’s decision of the Vlora District Court, if there is no irrefutable evidence, constitutes a scandal. The arrest of a mayoral candidate two days before the elections is not within the rule of law. The decision to detain the mayoral candidate in custody induces a full reversal of the rules of equality i...

Chris Roberts, ex-radio voice of UCLA football and basketball, dies at 74

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Roberts, who worked as UCLA’s football and basketball play-by-play radio announcer for 23 years, has died. He was 74.He died at his Glendora home east of Los Angeles on Friday from complications of Parkinson’s disease, the school said Saturday.When he retired in 2015, Roberts equaled Fred Hessler’s record for longest tenured play-by-play broadcaster in school history.Roberts was hired by UCLA in 1992. He called football games for 23 seasons, including 16 bowl games that included the Bruins’ Rose Bowl appearances in 1994 and ’99.He also broadcast basketball, including 19 appearances by the Bruins in the NCAA Tournament. He was on the call when UCLA won its record 11th national championship in 1995.Roberts was a four-time Golden Mike Award winner and was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association’s hall of fame. He authored two books about the Bruins.Born Bob LaPeer in Alhambra, California, he was a three-sport athl...

Biden’s reelection pitch that he can govern well faces daunting challenges with debt, border, more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A showdown with Congress that has the nation’s creditworthiness at stake; a frenzied scene at the border as pandemic restrictions ease; a pivotal foreign trip meant to sustain support for Ukraine and contain a more assertive China in the Indo-Pacific.Three weeks since launching his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden is confronting a sweeping set of problems in his day job that defy easy solutions and are not entirely within his control. If, as his advisers believe, the single best thing Biden can do for his reelection prospects is to govern well, then the coming weeks can pose a near-existential test of his path to a second term.Economists warn that the country faces a debilitating recession — and worse — if Biden and lawmakers can’t agree on a path to raising the debt limit. Biden wants Congress to raise it without precondition, equating Republicans’ demands for spending cuts with ransom for the country’s full faith and credit.The expiration of the COVID-19 ...

Government of Yukon issues flood watch after Porcupine River rose a metre overnight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:18 GMT

The Yukon government has issued a flood watch advisory after the Porcupine River rose more than a metre overnight. The advisory says the river’s rapid rise indicates the buildup of an ice jam downstream, and says several ice jams have formed, including a 20 kilometre jam about 30 kilometres upstream of the community of Old Crow. The advisory says the river’s rise will continue “rapidly” until the downstream jam stabilizes, but warns of more river level increases when the other ice jams release. The weather forecast calls for a chance of showers, and the Yukon flood atlas website says people should stay clear of potentially unstable river banks during fast and high-flowing periods. The Porcupine is a tributary of the Yukon River that stretches into Alaska. The Yukon Government has also issued advisories about high river levels on the Nordenskiold and Klondike Rivers due to ice jams and snow melt. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 20...