North America

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California judge accused of killing his wife texted his court clerk and bailiff afterward to say he had shot her, prosecutors said Friday as they charged him with murder and sought new bail conditions.

A court filing from prosecutors says Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson texted: “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.

Garland said he was naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son, as the special counsel.

Just as his appointment as special counsel was announced, Weiss notified a federal judge in Delaware that plea deal talks in the Hunter Biden case were at an “impasse.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump warned on Friday that there are limits on what the former president can publicly say about the investigation as he campaigns for a second term in the White House.

10 August 2023; MEMO: In a bid to counter progressive candidates critical of Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has intensified its recruitment efforts for the 2024 US elections. The pro-Israel group is actively seeking House candidates to challenge prominent members of the "Squad", such as Jamaal Bowman and Ilhan Omar.

HAVANA, August 10. /TASS/: At least six people have been detained as part of an investigation into the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, the South American country’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

"As of now, six people were detained during raids in the Conocoto and San Bartolo [neighborhoods] of [the capital] Quito as part of an investigation into the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio," the statement reads.

HOUSTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Cuba has begun using its own tankers to ramp up crude imports from Mexico, which in the second quarter surpassed Russia as a key oil provider to the fuel-thirsty island, according to vessel monitoring data.

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department will soon propose a rule that would effectively end anonymous luxury-home purchases, closing a loophole that the agency says allows corrupt oligarchs, terrorists and other criminals to hide ill-gotten gains.

The long-awaited rule is expected to require that real estate professionals such as title insurers report the identities of the beneficial owners of companies buying real estate in cash to the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

NEW YORK, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Attacks at medical facilities have helped make health care one of the United States' most violent fields, reported The Associated Press on Monday.

Data showed American health care workers now suffer more nonfatal injuries from workplace violence than workers in any other profession, including law enforcement, said the report.

(AP) --- Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team asked a judge on Thursday to set a Jan. 2 trial date for former President Donald Trump in the case charging him with plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss.

If U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan agrees with prosecutors’ proposal, the case against the early front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential primary would open right before the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, which was fueled by Trump’s false claims about the election.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday will ask Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, another massive infusion of cash as the Russian invasion wears on and Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s deeply entrenched forces, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.