4 kidnapped Americans crossed into Mexico for health care

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Four Americans who traveled to Mexico last week to seek health care got caught in a deadly shootout and were kidnapped by heavily armed men who threw them in the back of a pickup truck, officials from both countries said Monday.

The four were traveling Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. They came under fire shortly after entering the city of Matamoros from Brownsville, at the southernmost tip of Texas near the Gulf coast, the FBI said in a statement Sunday.

“All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men,” the FBI said. The bureau is offering a $50,000 reward for the victims' return and the arrest of the kidnappers.

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, said she has been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell Brown, is one of the four victims.

“This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,” she said in a phone interview. “To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.”

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23 charged with terrorism in Atlanta 'Cop City' protest

ATLANTA (AP) — More than 20 people from around the country faced domestic terrorism charges Monday after dozens in black masks attacked the site of a police training center under construction in a wooded area outside Atlanta where one protester was killed in January.

The site has become the flashpoint of ongoing conflict between authorities and left-leaning protesters who have been drawn together, joining forces to protest a variety of causes. Among them: People against the militarization of police; others who aim to protect the environment; and some who oppose corporations who they see as helping to fund the project through donations to a police foundation.

Flaming bottles and rocks were thrown at officers during a protest Sunday at “Cop City,” where 26-year-old environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, or “Tortuguita,” was shot to death by officers during a raid at a protest camp in January. Police have said that Tortuguita attacked them, a version that other activists have questioned.

Almost all of the 23 people arrested are from states across the U.S., while one is from Canada and another from France, police said Monday.

Like many protesters, Tortuguita was dedicated to preserving the environment, friends and family said, ideals that clashed with Atlanta’s hopes of building a $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center meant to boost preparedness and morale after George Floyd’s death in 2020.

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3 GOP states pull out of effort to thwart voter fraud

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Three Republican-led states on Monday pulled out of a bipartisan effort among states to ensure accurate voter lists, undermining a system with a demonstrated record of combating voter fraud.

The moves, encouraged by former President Donald Trump, are the latest indication of how conspiracy theories related to the 2020 presidential outcome continue to ripple throughout the Republican Party and upend long-established traditions in how the country administers elections.

Chief election officials in Florida, Missouri and West Virginia notified the Electronic Registration Information Center, more commonly known as ERIC, that they would depart the voluntary program, which has long been comprised of both Republican-led and Democratic-led states. They join Louisiana, which left last year, and Alabama, which previously announced plans to withdraw this year.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, in a letter to member states Monday, also threatened to withdraw. That came just weeks after the Republican defended the system, telling reporters it was “one of the best fraud-fighting tools that we have.”

Florida and its 14.4 million registered voters pose a considerable loss for the data-sharing group, which relies heavily on member states to produce reports on voters who may have died or those who have moved to another state. Its reports also help states identify and ultimately prosecute people who vote in multiple states.

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Fox libel defense at odds with top GOP presidential foes

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News is on an unlikely collision course with two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination over the rights of journalists.

In defending itself against a massive defamation lawsuit over how it covered false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election, the network is relying on a nearly 60-year-old Supreme Court ruling that makes it difficult to successfully sue media organizations for libel.

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, two favorites of many Fox News viewers, have advocated for the court to revisit the standard, which is considered the foundational case in American defamation law.

“It is ironic that Fox is relying on a landmark case that was designed to help the news media play the watchdog role in a democracy and is under attack by Gov. DeSantis, Donald Trump and other figures who have been untethered in their attacks on journalists as enemies of the people,” said Jane Hall, a communication professor at American University.

Eye-catching evidence has emerged from court filings in recent weeks revealing a split screen between what Fox was portraying to its viewers about the false claims of election fraud and what hosts and executives were saying about them behind the scenes. “Sydney Powell is lying,” Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in a text to a producer, referencing one of the attorneys pushing the claims for Trump.

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DA stands by prosecutor in Alec Baldwin set-shooting case

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A district attorney in Santa Fe fought back Monday against efforts to disqualify the special prosecutor pursuing manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set.

Baldwin's legal team in February sought to disqualify special prosecutor and Republican state Rep. Andrea Reeb of Clovis based on constitutional provisions that safeguard the separation of powers between distinct branches of government.

Defense attorneys argued that Reeb's role as a state lawmaker and prosecutor are incompatible and could distort legislative and judicial actions, including state spending on the prosecution of Baldwin over the 2021 shooting on the set of the Western movie “Rust.”

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies on Monday called the objection a “novel theory that has no support in new Mexico statutes or case law.”

She said the state constitution provides a variety of safeguards against legislators interfering with the outcome of ongoing court cases.

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Kim's sister warns N. Korea ready to act against US, South

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The influential sister of North Korea’s leader warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take “quick, overwhelming action” against the United States and South Korea, a day after the U.S. flew a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber in a demonstration of strengthen against the North.

Monday’s U.S.-South Korean training involving the B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula was the latest in a series of drills between the allies in recent months. Their militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.

Kim Yo Jong didn’t elaborate on any planned actions in her statement, but North Korea has often test-launched missiles in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills because it views them as an invasion rehearsal.

“We keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment,” Kim Yo Jong said in the statement carried by state media.

“The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide (North Korea) with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them,” she said.

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Californians still digging out from severe snowfall

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Residents of Southern California mountain towns have continued to struggle to dig out and get necessities in the aftermath of a record-setting blizzard last month that dumped so much snow that roads became impassable and roofs collapsed.

Here's a closer look at the situation:

SURVIVAL

Free food distribution centers have been set up at five locations, including the community of Crestline, which sits at an elevation of about 4,600 feet (1,400 meters).

A line of people waited there Monday to pick up food and necessities, such as toilet paper stacked in a parking lot.

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Red Sox infielder Justin Turner hit in face by pitch

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Boston Red Sox infielder Justin Turner needed 16 stitches after he was hit in the face by a pitch during Monday's spring training game against the Detroit Tigers.

The 38-year-old Turner fell to the ground after getting drilled by right-hander Matt Manning. Medical personnel rushed to the plate, and Turner was bleeding and had a towel on his face as he walked off the field.

Turner's wife, Kourtney, posted to Instagram that the infielder had “16 stitches and a lot of swelling but we are thanking God for no fractures & clear scans."

“He's receiving treatment for soft tissue injuries, and is being monitored for a concussion," the Red Sox said in a statement. "He will undergo further testing, and we'll update as we have more information. Justin is stable, alert, and in good spirits given the circumstances.”

The two-time All-Star signed a $15 million, one-year deal with Red Sox during the offseason after spending the past nine years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit .278 with 13 homers and 81 RBIs in 128 games last season.

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Hope Hicks meets with NY prosecutors investigating Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s former spokesperson Hope Hicks met Monday with Manhattan prosecutors who are investigating hush-money payments made to women on the ex-president’s behalf — the latest member of the Republican's inner circle to be questioned in the renewed probe.

Hicks and her lawyer, Robert Trout, spent several hours inside the Manhattan district attorney’s office and, afterward, were seen walking to a waiting SUV. They didn't say anything to reporters as they got in the vehicle.

Trout declined comment. The district attorney’s office also declined comment and would not confirm prosecutors interviewed Hicks, who was previously questioned in 2018 by federal prosecutors who looked into the same conduct.

Hicks served as Trump’s 2016 campaign press secretary and spoke with Trump by phone during a frenzied effort to keep his alleged affairs out of the press in the final weeks before the election, according to court records from the federal probe. Hicks later held various roles in his White House, including communications director.

Last week, prosecutors questioned Cohen, who arranged payments to two women, and Trump’s former political adviser Kellyanne Conway.

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Ex-Raider Derek Carr agrees to 4-year contract with Saints

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Derek Carr has proved repeatedly that he can produce as a passer.

What the former Raiders quarterback hasn't done is win in the playoffs, something he aims to change in New Orleans, where he'll be reunited with Dennis Allen — his first NFL coach.

Carr has agreed to a four-year contract with the Saints, and a person familiar with the situation said the deal could be worth up to $150 million.

The person spoke to The Associated Press about the contract's value on condition of anonymity Monday because financial terms were not released when the Saints announced their agreement with Carr, a four-time Pro Bowler who ranks fourth in the NFL in yards passing since entering the league.

“Derek’s experience, leadership and skillset will be an asset to our offense,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said.

News from © The Associated Press, 2023