By Will Dunham WASHINGTON Humans trod the landscape of North America thousands of years earlier than previously thought,

“Suitcase killer” Heather Mack has pleaded guilty in a Chicago court today over the 2014 murder of her socialite mother in Bali, bringing some sort of conclusion to the shocking case. In August 2014, Mack, then 18 and pregnant, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, then 21, bludgeoned Sheila von Weise-Mack, 62, to death with a metal fruit stand while on vacation at the luxury 5-star St Regis resort on the Indonesian island. The couple, who described themselves as “Bonnie and Clyde” in chilling text messages, then stuffed her body in a suitcase and left it in the trunk of a taxi. They were both convicted of premeditated murder in Indonesia – narrowly escaping death by firing squad. After serving seven years in a Bali jail (where her daughter was born), Mack was extradited to the US where she was arrested on arrival in Chicago and hit with fresh charges of conspiracy to murder in a foreign country in November 2021. Since then, she has been behind bars fighting the charges but had a change of heart and decided to take a plea deal. Read More A body in a suitcase, Bonnie and Clyde fantasy and baby born in Bali prison: The chilling case of Heather Mack Heather Mack, convicted in mother’s murder in Bali, plans to plead guilty in US, attorney says

A new lawsuit says a Mississippi law will restrict free speech by requiring people to obtain permission from state law enforcement officials for any protest near state government buildings in the capital city of Jackson

Hamas said it’s ready to release a second group of hostages to Israel, resolving a dispute that threatened

Ed Steinberg described Madonna as an 'A++ class personality' but expressed concerns about the isolation that comes with fame

Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill Wednesday out of the state's Republican-controlled state legislature that aims to enhance school safety across the state following the deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville earlier this year.

Tom has opened up about his relationship status and cleared what's between him and Tii

Ukraine is seeking to encircle Russia’s troops in Bakhmut, as president Volodymyr Zelensky rejected counterpart Vladimir Putin’s claims to have finally captured the city after nine months of Europe’s bloodiest fighting in decades. Mr Putin congratulated his troops after the Wagner Group claimed its mercenaries had seized the frontline Donetsk city on Saturday afternoon with “practically no” help from the Russian army. But speaking from the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Mr Zelensky was insistent that Bakhmut – where US president Joe Biden claimed 100,000 Russian troops had died in recent months – “has not been captured by” Moscow. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, also claimed Kyiv’s troops were advancing on Russian forces in the suburbs and were getting closer to a “tactical encirclement” of the city. Echoing these claims, Kyiv’s deputy defence Minister Hanna Maliar said: “Our forces have taken the city in a semi-encirclement, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy ... [who] has to defend himself in the part of the city he controls.” Read More UK support for Ukraine will ‘never waver’, Rishi Sunak tells Zelensky Russia warns of ‘colossal risks’ if F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine Britain says Russia will ‘pay the price’ for Ukraine invasion as fresh wave of sanctions unveiled

By Samia Nakhoul DUBAI Israeli forces poised to invade Gaza on a mission to wipe out Hamas will

Republicans overturn the governor's veto of their bill, prompting chants of "shame" from onlookers.

China says Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit Beijing next week for talks, marking the latest exchange in a relationship in which Russia is becoming increasingly reliant on China for economic and diplomatic support

The move is part of efforts to target the supply chain of the drug amid the opioid crisis in the US.