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USA: Boston mayor apologizes to Black men wrongly accused in 1989 murder that shone spotlight on racism

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued a formal apology Wednesday to two Black men who were wrongly accused in a 1989 murder of a white woman, a case that coarsened divisions in a city long split along racial lines and renewed suspicion and anger directed at the police department by the city’s Black community.

“I am so sorry for what you endured,” the mayor said during a news conference. “I am so sorry for the pain that you have carried for so many years.”

USA: Biden tackles Trump and touts economic progress in Milwaukee visit

MILWAUKEE (AP) — President Joe Biden touted his administration’s support for minority-owned businesses and the replacement of lead pipes during a visit here on Wednesday while also swiping at Donald Trump’s rhetoric toward migrants and his ongoing lies about his election loss.

‘Fat Leonard,’ a fugitive now returning to the US, was behind one of the military’s biggest scandals

WASHINGTON (AP) — Returning convicted defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis to U.S. custody as part of the Venezuelan prisoner swap on Wednesday is the latest twist in a decade-long salacious saga and bribery scheme that swept up dozens of American Navy officers.

US, Venezuela swap prisoners: Maduro ally for 10 Americans, plus fugitive contractor ‘Fat Leonard’

MIAMI (AP) — The United States freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the return of a fugitive defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who is at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.

The American detainees were back on U.S. soil late Wednesday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. Six of them arrived at Kelly Airfield Annex in San Antonio.

USA: Congressman told to hand over hundreds of texts and emails to FBI in 2020 election probe

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge is ordering Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania to turn over more than 1,600 texts and emails to FBI agents investigating efforts to keep President Donald Trump in office after his 2020 election loss and illegally block the transfer of power to Democrat Joe Biden.

The ruling, late Monday, came more than a year after Perry’s personal cellphone was seized by federal authorities who have explored his role in helping install an acting attorney general who would be receptive to Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

Texas begins flying migrants from US-Mexico border to Chicago, with 1st plane carrying 120 people

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has begun flying migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago after the city took a tougher stance on the buses that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been sending north since last year.

The first flight of 120 migrants arrived Tuesday, according to Abbott’s office.

US senator’s son faces new charges in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff’s deputy

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer’s 42-year-old son is facing additional charges in connection with the pursuit and crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy this month.

Ian Cramer, who is in jail, is now also accused of theft, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment for allegedly taking a family vehicle and driving through a closed garage door of a Bismarck hospital’s ambulance bay. The new charges were filed Tuesday.

USA: Descendants fight to maintain historic Black communities. Keeping their legacy alive is complicated

DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Sallie Ann Robinson proudly stands in the front yard of her grandmother’s South Carolina home. The sixth-generation native of Daufuskie Island, a once-thriving Gullah community, remembers relatives hosting meals and imparting life lessons on the next generation.

“I was born in this very house, as many generations of family have been as well,” said Robinson, a chef and tour guide. “I was raised here. These woods was our playgrounds.”

USA: Christmas is in jeopardy for some New Englanders after storms and flooding knocked out power

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Megan Michaud and her family of five lost power for three days after a powerful storm throttled her home state of Maine, and a new challenge is creeping up on her: It’s almost time for Christmas.

“This morning, my second grader told me, ‘It’s five days until Christmas’ and I told myself that can’t be right,” said Michaud, 42, of Kennebunkport. “But it turns out the calendar keeps moving even when you’re in the middle of something.”

USA: Donald Trump’s GOP rivals once again compelled to rally to his defense after Colorado ruling

AMES, Iowa (AP) — With less than a month to go before voting begins, Donald Trump ‘s Republican rivals are once again rallying to his defense, this time after Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled to remove him from the state’s presidential primary ballot under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause.

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