Harris, in Africa, confronts painful past, envisions future

CAPE COAST, Ghana (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday stepped through the black doors of a colonial-era seaside fort and down into the dungeons, touring a site where millions of enslaved Africans were held captive before they were loaded onto ships bound for the Americas. ...

Family of US couple kidnapped in Haiti pleads for release

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Nikese Toussaint was at church, so she didn’t see the text message from her sister. All she knew at that point was that their brother and his wife, who live in the U.S., had landed safely in Haiti to visit ailing relatives and prepare for Rara, a...

17-year-old charged in kidnapping ending in Houston shooting

A 17-year-old has been charged with kidnapping two migrants whose rescue this week from a Houston hotel by FBI agents after days of captivity ended in gunfire that killed another suspect. Josiah Jackson was charged Friday with two counts of aggravated kidnapping in the abduction of...

California jailbreak mastermind sentenced for daring escape

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A man serving a life sentence for kidnapping and mutilating a marijuana dispensary owner was given an additional sentence Friday for masterminding a daring, elaborate escape from a Southern California jail. Hossein Nayeri, 44, was sentenced to the maximum...

Reports: Islamic State kidnaps dozens in Syria, dead found

BEIRUT (AP) — Members of the Islamic State group have kidnapped dozens of people in a central province and the bodies of some have been found with their throats slit, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media reported Friday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human...

Florida Legislature moving quickly on DeSantis priorities

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — From expanding gun rights to going after “woke” investors, the Florida Legislature is quickly moving on a list of bills that will give Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis conservative-pleasing policy successes as he prepares to launch a presidential campaign. ...

Authorities: Suspect fatally shot during rescue of migrants

HOUSTON (AP) — A hostage rescue that left a suspect fatally shot Thursday in Houston began days ago when three migrants were kidnapped from a vehicle in a neighboring county, according to a prosecutor. The three migrants had been traveling in a vehicle on Interstate 10 in the...

Prosecutor: Hostage rescue in Houston began days ago when 3 migrants kidnapped from neighboring county

Brazil police foil gang plot targeting Carwash judge Moro

SAO PAULO (AP) — Federal police raided locations in several states Wednesday to crack down on a gang accused of plotting assassinations and kidnappings of public officials including a former judge who presided over Brazil’s biggest corruption case. One of the suspects' targets...

Macron welcomes back to France journalist freed in Mali

PARIS (AP) — A French journalist who was held hostage by Islamic extremists for nearly two years in Mali was welcomed home by French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, one day after his release. Olivier Dubois was kidnapped in April 2021 in northern Mali, a region wracked by...