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EFE News Briefs for Friday, Nov. 7 (End of the day)(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Missing students were slain, Mexico says Mexico City (EFE).- The 43 teacher trainees missing since a Sept. 26 incident in the southern state of Guerrero involving gangsters and corrupt cops are dead, Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said, citing statements from three suspects in custody. Patricio Reyes, Jhonatan Osorio and Agustin Garcia confessed to having killed the students and burned their bodies, the attorney general told a press conference. More than 70 people, including police and public officials, have been arrested in connection with the events that took place the night of Sept. 26 in Iguala, Guerrero, when municipal police fired gunshots at students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Normal School, a nearby teacher-training facility. Six people died that night, 25 were wounded and 43 Ayotzinapa students were detained and then handed over to members of the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel. ___ Obama to nominate prosecutor Loretta Lynch as attorney gen'l Washington (EFE).- President Barack Obama will nominate federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch to succeed Eric Holder as attorney general, the White House said, hours after media outlets reported that she was the top candidate for the post. "Tomorrow, the President will announce his intent to nominate U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to be the Attorney General of the United States," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement. Lynch, 55, would be the first African-American woman attorney general in U.S. history. Holder, the first African-American to lead the Department of Justice, announced his resignation in September, but said he would remain on the job until a successor was confirmed by the Senate. ___ Obama authorizes sending 1,500 more troops to Iraq Washington, Nov 7 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama authorized the sending of up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq as part of the strategy to combat the jihadist group Islamic State, the White House announced. These military personnel will not be "boots on the ground," but rather their mission will be to train, advise and aid Iraqi security forces that include Kurdish troops. The U.S. military will work at the installations of Iraqi security forces located outside the capital, Baghdad, and the Kurdish-Iraqi city of Erbil, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. ___ AT&T to acquire Mexican wireless carrier Iusacell New York (EFE).- AT&T said it has reached an agreement to acquire No. 3 Mexican wireless operator Iusacell from Grupo Salinas for $2.5 billion including debt. The deal will depend on Grupo Salinas, a Mexican conglomerate, completing its announced acquisition of the 50 percent stake it does not already in Iusacell, AT&T said in a statement. "Our acquisition of Iusacell is a direct result of the reforms put in place by (Mexican) President (Enrique) Peña Nieto to encourage more competition and more investment in Mexico," AT&T said, referring to a recent telecommunications overhaul that imposes a heavy regulatory burden on dominant players. The law targeted "preponderant economic agents" such as Mexican multibillionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil, whose Telcel wireless unit has a stranglehold on Mexico's wireless market. ___ Killer of Venezuelan lawmaker caught in Colombia Caracas (EFE).- The ringleader of the group that killed a Venezuelan legislator and his aide has been apprehended in Colombia, Venezuela's interior minister said. "I confirm the capture of alias 'El Colombia' in Cartagena, Carmen Melendez told reporters, adding that authorities were already working "to bring back this gentleman from Colombia ... so justice can be done in the case of Robert Serra." Leiva Padilla, a.k.a. El Colombia, was the person who directed the murders of Serra, a ruling-party lawmaker, and aide Maria Herrera, the interior minister said. Serra and Herrera were slain the night of Oct. 1 at the politician's home in Caracas. The double-murder was ordered by right-wing paramilitaries based in neighboring Colombia and the killers were paid $500,000, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said two weeks ago. ___ U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear new challenge to Obamacare Washington (EFE).- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a case against subsidies offered to help middle- and low-income people purchase health insurance under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, in what is the latest challenge to President Barack Obama's signature health care law. The justices, in a 5-4 vote, decided to study the challenge brought by four Virginia residents seeking to block those subsidies in 36 states. The challengers argue that those subsidies that have helped millions of people obtain health coverage may only be offered in states that have decided to run their own exchanges, or healthcare marketplaces, but not in states (36 out of the 50) in which the federal government has stepped in to run them. After learning of the Supreme Court's decision, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Obama administration will continue to vigorously defend the health care law, adding that it "is working and has generated significant benefits for working families and small-business owners all across the country." EFE dr (c) 2014 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. |