Far away from the extreme summer temperatures of the northern hemisphere, Southern Cone countries such as Chile and Argentina are also experiencing record heat, but in the middle of what...

Tulsi Gabbard opens up about the true definition of ‘Aloha’ in Hawaii

Former President Donald Trump's legal team has proposed more lax rules than those sought by prosecutors over what he can do with evidence he is provided in the criminal election interference case.

The conviction came after a jury found Ezra Ralston guilty on two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and arson in the first degree

The entire five-member police department of a small town in Kansas raided the office of a local newspaper and the home of its publisher, seizing computers, cell phones and other reporting materials and effectively shutting down publication. The weekly newspaper’s 98-year-old co-owner – apparently overwhelmed by the incident – collapsed and died the following day, according to the Marion County Record. Publisher Eric Meyer said the Marion Police Department’s raid on 11 August took “everything we have.” The incident is likely to cast a “chilling effect” on the newspaper’s abilities to publish and for members of the public to speak with its reporters, he told the Kansas Reflector. “Based on the reporting so far, the police raid of the Marion County Record on Friday appears to have violated federal law, the First Amendment, and basic human decency,” according to a statement from Seth Stern, director of advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation. “Everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves,” he added. The raid followed a series of stories about a restaurant owner who kicked reporters out of a meeting with Republican US Rep Jake LaTurner. A source had contacted the newspaper about the restaurant owner’s drunken driving record, and reporters sought to verify the information through government records. Mr Meyer ultimately decided against publishing anything. But the restaurant owner, KarI Newell, falsely claimed during a city council meeting that the newspaper had illegally obtained sensitive documents about her, which prompted the newspaper to publish a story that set the record straight. The newspaper was also actively investigating Gideon Cody, Marion’s chief of police, following allegations that he had retired from a previous job to avoid punishment over accusations of sexual misconduct. The Independent has requested comment from Mr Cody and Marion police. A warrant for the raid – performed by the entire police department and sheriff’s deputies – was signed by Marion County District Court Magistrate Judge Laura Viar. The two-page warrant stated that officers were allowed to seize phones, software, items that contained passwords, and all correspondence and documents “pertaining to Kari Newell.” Chief Cody also reportedly dislocated one reporter’s finger after snatching her phone from her hand during the raid. Officers also reportedly photographed personal financial statements and seized personal items – including a smart speaker used by the paper’s 98-year-old co-owner Joan Meyer to ask for assistance. “These are Hitler tactics and something has to be done,” Ms Meyer said. The following day, the Marion County Record reported that she was “stressed beyond her limits and overwhelmed by hours of shock and grief” following the raid of the newspaper’s office and her home. “Joan Meyer, otherwise in good health for her age, collapsed Saturday afternoon and died at her home,” the newspaper reported. “She had not been able to eat after police showed up at the door of her home Friday with a search warrant in hand. Neither was she able to sleep Friday night.” Emily Bradbury, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, said that the incident is unprecedented in the state. “An attack on a newspaper office through an illegal search is not just an infringement on the rights of journalists but an assault on the very foundation of democracy and the public’s right to know,” she said in a statement. “This cannot be allowed to stand.” The Radio Television Digital News Association also is demanding an explanation from police. Free expression advocacy organisation PEN America said such “egregious attempts to interfere with news reporting cannot go unchecked in a democracy,” and that the seizure of the newspaper’s equipment “almost certainly violates federal law & puts the paper’s ability to publish the news in jeopardy.” In The Record’s own reporting of the incident, Mr Meyer condemned what he called police “Gestapo tactics” used to crush dissent. “We will be seeking the maximum sanctions possible under law,” he added. The Record is expected to file a federal lawsuit. The Press Freedom Tracker has recorded at least 55 incidents targeting journalists’ First Amendment-protected activities within the last year. Earlier this year, officials in Oklahoma were caught on tape fantasizing about killing journalists. Two journalists in North Carolina were recently found guilty of trespassing for reporting on the evictions of homeless people during a law enforcement sweep in Asheville. The latest incident in Kansas appears to be “the latest example of American law enforcement officers treating the press in a manner previously associated with authoritarian regimes,” Mr Stern said. “The anti-press rhetoric that’s become so pervasive in this country has become more than just talk and is creating a dangerous environment for journalists trying to do their jobs,” he added. Read More Michigan officials apologise after wrongly arresting 12-year-old Black boy in ‘unfortunate’ incident A Black woman says she was wrongly arrested at eight months pregnant. She’s suing over ‘mistaken’ face ID tech Lawsuits, jail threats and ‘enemy of the people’: Donald Trump’s endless war on the media

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The boy was pronounced dead at the scene after being hit by a car in Bundoran on Saturday night.

Mexico extradited Ovidio Guzmán López, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, to the United States on Friday to face drug trafficking charges, US attorney general Merrick Garland said in a statement. “This action is the most recent step in the Justice Department’s effort to attack every aspect of the cartel’s operations,” Mr Garland said. The Mexican government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mexican security forces captured Mr Guzmán López, alias “the Mouse,” in January in Culiacan, capital of Sinaloa state, the cartel’s namesake. Three years earlier, the government had tried to capture him, but aborted the operation after his cartel allies set off a wave of violence in Culiacan. January’s arrest set off similar violence that killed 30 people in Culiacan, including 10 military personnel. The army used Black Hawk helicopter gunships against the cartel’s truck-mounted .50-caliber machine guns. Cartel gunmen hit two military aircraft forcing them to land and sent gunmen to the city’s airport where military and civilian aircraft were hit by gunfire. The capture came just days before US president Joe Biden visited Mexico for bilateral talks followed by the North American Leaders’ Summit. On Friday, Mr Garland recognized the law enforcement and military members who had given their lives in the US and Mexico. "The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic that has devastated too many communities across the country.” In April, US prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments against Mr Guzmán and his brothers, known collectively as the “Chapitos.” They laid out in detail how following their father’s extradition and eventual life sentence in the US, the brothers steered the cartel increasingly into synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. The indictment unsealed in Manhattan said their goal was to produce huge quantities of fentanyl and sell it at the lowest price. Fentanyl is so cheap to make that the cartel reaps immense profits even wholesaling the drug at 50 cents per pill, prosecutors said. The brothers denied the allegations in a letter. The Chapitos became known for grotesque violence that appeared to surpass any notions of restraint shown by earlier generations of cartel leaders. Fentanyl has become a top priority in the bilateral security relationship. But Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has denied assertions by the US government and his own military about fentanyl production in Mexico, instead describing the country as a transit point for precursors coming from China and bound for the US. López Obrador blames a deterioration of family values in the US for the high levels of drug addiction in that country. An estimated 109,680 overdose deaths occurred last year in the United States, according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 75,000 of those were linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Inexpensive fentanyl is increasingly cut into other drugs, often without the buyers’ knowledge. Read More El Chapo’s son, three Sinaloa cartel leaders and two Mexican firms sanctioned for bringing fentanyl into US Case details Sinaloa cartel's fentanyl-fueled evolution Mexican capo's arrest a gesture to US, not signal of change Big week for US-Mexico ties going into North American summit Drug lord, trafficker, killer of wedding singers: How the ‘New Mouse’ followed in the bloody footsteps of his father El Chapo

Giorgia Meloni is taking action against Brian Molko over comments at a concert in Turin last month.

The technology giant's stock market valuation has fallen by almost $200bn in the last two days.