
Mexico extradites son of ‘El Chapo’ Ovidio Guzmán López to US
Mexico extradited Ovidio Guzmán López, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, to the United States on Friday to face drug trafficking charges, US attorney general Merrick Garland said in a statement. “This action is the most recent step in the Justice Department’s effort to attack every aspect of the cartel’s operations,” Mr Garland said. The Mexican government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mexican security forces captured Mr Guzmán López, alias “the Mouse,” in January in Culiacan, capital of Sinaloa state, the cartel’s namesake. Three years earlier, the government had tried to capture him, but aborted the operation after his cartel allies set off a wave of violence in Culiacan. January’s arrest set off similar violence that killed 30 people in Culiacan, including 10 military personnel. The army used Black Hawk helicopter gunships against the cartel’s truck-mounted .50-caliber machine guns. Cartel gunmen hit two military aircraft forcing them to land and sent gunmen to the city’s airport where military and civilian aircraft were hit by gunfire. The capture came just days before US president Joe Biden visited Mexico for bilateral talks followed by the North American Leaders’ Summit. On Friday, Mr Garland recognized the law enforcement and military members who had given their lives in the US and Mexico. "The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic that has devastated too many communities across the country.” In April, US prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments against Mr Guzmán and his brothers, known collectively as the “Chapitos.” They laid out in detail how following their father’s extradition and eventual life sentence in the US, the brothers steered the cartel increasingly into synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. The indictment unsealed in Manhattan said their goal was to produce huge quantities of fentanyl and sell it at the lowest price. Fentanyl is so cheap to make that the cartel reaps immense profits even wholesaling the drug at 50 cents per pill, prosecutors said. The brothers denied the allegations in a letter. The Chapitos became known for grotesque violence that appeared to surpass any notions of restraint shown by earlier generations of cartel leaders. Fentanyl has become a top priority in the bilateral security relationship. But Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has denied assertions by the US government and his own military about fentanyl production in Mexico, instead describing the country as a transit point for precursors coming from China and bound for the US. López Obrador blames a deterioration of family values in the US for the high levels of drug addiction in that country. An estimated 109,680 overdose deaths occurred last year in the United States, according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 75,000 of those were linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Inexpensive fentanyl is increasingly cut into other drugs, often without the buyers’ knowledge. Read More El Chapo’s son, three Sinaloa cartel leaders and two Mexican firms sanctioned for bringing fentanyl into US Case details Sinaloa cartel's fentanyl-fueled evolution Mexican capo's arrest a gesture to US, not signal of change Big week for US-Mexico ties going into North American summit Drug lord, trafficker, killer of wedding singers: How the ‘New Mouse’ followed in the bloody footsteps of his father El Chapo
1970-01-01 08:00

One year since Mahsa Amini's death, a protester shot in the eye during Iran's crackdown continues her struggle from exile
Elahe Tavakolian's shooter was so close, she could see him pointing his gun at her.
1970-01-01 08:00

Russia gives Kim Jong Un an inside look at its warplanes
Kim Jong Un was "deeply impressed" by a visit to a Russian aircraft manufacturing plant on Friday, according to North Korean state media.
1970-01-01 08:00

10 under-the-radar players who will turn heads in the 2023 MLB postseason
With the MLB postseason coming up soon these 10 players are going to teach the world who they are with big October showings like Jeremy Pena did in 2022.
1970-01-01 08:00

Exclusive-IMF to urge China to shift growth model, Georgieva says
WASHINGTON The International Monetary Fund plans to tell China to boost weak domestic consumption, address its troubled real
1970-01-01 08:00

17 of History's Coolest Cats
Anyone with a cat will probably argue that their feline is the coolest—but there have been at least a few other candidates through the ages, from Able Seacat Simon to Abraham Lincoln’s kitties to the feline that inspired Nikola Tesla.
1970-01-01 08:00

Libyan official refutes blame for flood disaster
An official in the eastern based government tells the BBC locals in Derna were told to flee their homes.
1970-01-01 08:00

Alex Murdaugh’s jury tampering allegations have ‘significant’ factual disputes, prosecutors say
Prosecutors have responded to Alex Murdaugh’s allegations of jury tampering at his double murder trial stating that South Carolina investigators have found “significant factual disputes” with the claims. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office filed the response on Friday moving to dismiss Murdaugh’s request for a new trial due to “procedural defect”. The filing, which came just under deadline on Friday afternoon, is the state’s first response to the allegations made in the defence’s bombshell motion last week. Murdaugh demanded a new trial after his legal team accused Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of pressuring jurors to return a guilty verdict. Prosecutors also said that they want Murdaugh’s defence team to show that they did not know about the alleged jury tampering during the murder trial. Ms Hill has not commented publicly on the allegations. The response from the state on Friday comes a day after a smiling Murdaugh appeared publicly for the first time since he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul, this time to face a string of financial fraud charges. At the status hearing in Beaufort County, Judge Clifton Newman set the trial date for 27 November. The case will focus on the millions of dollars he stole from the family of his dead housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, part of the 101 state charges in response to his alleged financial crimes. Two former friends and alleged co-conspirators in the case also appeared in court on Thursday, former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte and former attorney Cory Fleming, the latter sentenced to 10 years in prison. Read More Smiling Alex Murdaugh appears in court in shackles as trial date set in financial fraud case Alex Murdaugh’s demand for new trial over jury tampering claims awaiting response as deadline looms – live
1970-01-01 08:00

Man with swastika tattoo accused of taping razor blade to church handrail
A suspect identified by a “large red swastika tattoo” on his chest was arrested for allegedly taping a razor blade to a handrail at a Salvation Army Church in Pennsylvania, police say. Benjamin Burton Brower Jr, 30, attached a three-inch blade to a handrail on steps leading to the front door of the church in Altoona, Blair County, on Sunday afternoon, the Altoona Police Department said in a statement. “APD officers were dispatched to the Salvation Army Church, 1813 6th Ave, after Brower was seen on surveillance cameras taping razor blades to the hand railing at the church entrance,” the Altoona police said. “Brower was shirtless during the incident and identified by a large red swastika tattoo on his chest.” According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by WTAJ, Mr Brower was seen walking onto church grounds at around 3pm on Sunday wearing red shorts and an open vest exposing his swastika tattoo with a green camouflage backpack. He then retrieved several items from the bag and taped the blade, with the sharp side up, to a metal handrail. The church holds public services at 10.30am, Sunday school at 11.30am and provides free meals to the community at a 4.30pm soup kitchen. The razor was removed by the church pastor at around 5.15pm, and no one was injured. Swastikas are widely recognised as symbols of hate, antisemitism and white supremacy. Mr Brower was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, institutional vandalism at a place of worship, recklessly endangering another person, and other offences on Wednesday, police said. He is being held at Blair County Jail on $10,000 bail. Read More Parents of Philadelphia teacher found dead with 20 stab wounds lose battle to overturn suicide ruling Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante told officials he planned to carjack someone and flee US Mother arrested for abandoning toddler in stroller on side of LA street
1970-01-01 08:00

Berlin protesters condemn Russian soprano Netrebko's opera performance
Anna Netrebko has been accused of failing to denounce Vladimir Putin for Russia's war in Ukraine.
1970-01-01 08:00

States Beg Biden to Bolster Offshore Wind While Projects Flounder
Six US governors have implored President Joe Biden to boost support for the fledgling offshore wind industry amid
1970-01-01 08:00

Wagner group formally banned as terror organisation in the UK
The move comes just weeks after the death of the group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.
1970-01-01 08:00