More than 200 educators and activists, along with presidential candidate Jay Inslee, rallied outside the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) office Friday to protest the Trump administration’s continued detention of children and separation of families.

Organized by the American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teachers union in the country, protesters donned white shirts reading “CLASSROOMS NOT CAGES.”

“Whatever it takes, let’s do [immigration] right,” AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus told VOA News.

“But, until then, these kids are dying. These kids are suffering. These kids are not getting schooling the way they should,” DeJesus added. “And the teachers are here, ready to school them, to teach them, to love them.”

During President Donald Trump’s time in office,

Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy American financier, was charged this week with child sex trafficking and alleged abuse of dozens of girls as young as 14.

Despite living a life of private jets, celebrity friends and private islands, Epstein remains an enigma.

In a profile published in 2002, New York Magazine called Epstein an “international moneyman of mystery.”

Author James Patterson, who has written a book about Epstein, called him “a total mystery person.”

On CBS News, Patterson compared Epstein to author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character Jay Gatsby: an impenetrable rich man who “liked to be around famous people and he liked to throw parties.”

Humble beginnings

Epstein’s start was a humble one. He was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. His father worked for the city parks department.

In the mid-1970s, Epstein attended a private college in New York called The Cooper Union. He later attended New York University. Even though he failed to earn a degree from either school, Epstein managed to land a job teaching math at the Dalton School, an elite private school in Manhattan.

He was reportedly hired by then-headmaster Donald Barr, father of Attorney General William Barr, according to Newsweek magazine.

Epstein quit Dalton in 1976 and started work at the Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns, advising clients on tax strategies. By 1980, he “did well enough to become a limited partner — a rung beneath full partner,” Vanity Fair reported.

He left Bear Sterns in 1981 and set up a money management firm, J. Epstein and Co., which later became the Financial Trust Company, based in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Epstein’s company is shrouded in secrecy. While Epstein has long claimed to represent several billionaires, his only known client is Les Wexner, the founder of Victoria’s Secret, The Limited and other retail brands.

And despite his claims of wealth, Forbes magazine says Epstein is not a billionaire. He has never appeared on the magazine’s list of 400 richest Americans.

Notable friends

Along with lavish properties, Epstein also appears to like to collect notable friends.

In 2015, the now-defunct site Gawker published what it said was Epstein’s address book. It contained entries for U.S. President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump; actors Alec Baldwin, Dustin Hoffman and Ralph Fiennes; the Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, singers Courtney Love and Jimmy Buffett, and high-profile lawyer Alan Dershowitz among others. He is also known to have traveled on his private jets with former President Bill Clinton and actor Kevin Spacey.

None of his high-profile friends have been linked to the crimes for which Epstein was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York this week.
 

A federal appeals court gave President Donald Trump a rare legal win in his efforts to crack down on “sanctuary cities” Friday, upholding the Justice Department’s decision to give preferential treatment in awarding community policing grants to cities that cooperate with immigration authorities.

The 2-1 opinion overturned a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge in Los Angeles. The court said awarding extra points in the application process to cities that cooperate was consistent with the goals of the grant program created by Congress.

“The department is pleased that the court recognized the lawful authority of the administration to provide favorable treatment when awarding discretionary law-enforcement grants to jurisdictions that assist in enforcing federal immigration laws,” the Justice Department said in an emailed statement.

Court block some efforts to withhold money

Federal courts have blocked some efforts by the administration to withhold money from sanctuary cities, including an executive order issued by the president in 2017 that would have barred them from receiving federal grants “except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes.” Courts also barred the Justice Department from imposing new immigration enforcement-related conditions on Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants, the biggest source of federal funding to state and local jurisdictions.

The 9th Circuit’s ruling Friday concerned a different grant program, Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, grants, which are used to hire more police officers. Previously, the Justice Department has given extra points to cities that agree to hire veterans, or that operate early intervention systems to identify officers with personal issues, or that have suffered school shootings.

Immigration points

In 2017, under then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department for the first time decided extra points would go to cities that listed immigration enforcement as a priority or that certified it would cooperate with federal immigration authorities by allowing them access to detainees in city jails and giving 48 hours’ notice before an undocumented immigrant was released from custody.

Los Angeles applied for a grant that year, but declined to list immigration enforcement as a priority — it listed building community trust instead — or to make the certification. It failed to win, and it sued.

The Justice Department had introduced conditions that impermissibly coerced the grant applicants to enforce federal immigration law, the city said. It also said the immigration-related conditions were contrary to the goals for which Congress had approved the grant money: to get more police on the beat, developing trust with the public.

Opinion ‘Orwellian’

The judges in the majority, Sandra Ikuta and Jay Bybee, both appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, rejected that.

“Cooperation relating to enforcement of federal immigration law is in pursuit of the general welfare, and meets the low bar of being germane to the federal interest in providing the funding to ‘address crime and disorder problems, and otherwise … enhance public safety,’” Ikuta wrote.

Several other jurisdictions did win funding without agreeing to the DOJ’s immigration enforcement preferences, she noted.

Judge Kim Wardlaw, appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, dissented, calling the majority’s opinion “Orwellian” in the way it tried to equate federal immigration enforcement with enhanced community policing.

“Nothing in the congressional record nor the act itself remotely mentions immigration or immigration enforcement as a goal,” she wrote. “In the quarter-century of the act’s existence, Congress has not once denoted civil immigration enforcement as a proper purpose for COPS grants.”

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Supporters of sanctuary cities say that encouraging local police to participate in federal immigration enforcement is counterproductive: People will be less likely to report crimes if they believe they’ll be deported for doing so. But the 9th Circuit’s opinion found that to be a question of policy, not law, said David Levine, a professor at University of California Hastings College of the Law.

“What the Justice Department was doing before, they were trying to force sanctuary cities to do things, and yank money from them retroactively if they didn’t,” Levine said. “They’ve gotten a little more sophisticated now. They’re saying, ‘You don’t have to take this money, but if you want it, it comes with strings attached.’ That’s a well understood way the federal government gets states to do things. You don’t use a stick, you use a carrot.”
 

Forecasters have issued hurricane warnings for parts of the Louisiana coast, as Tropical Storm Barry churns ominously in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in Louisiana Thursday night, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate federal funds and resources to help the state cope with the storm and its aftermath.

The National Hurricane Center expects Barry to strengthen before landfall and hit the coast as a Category 1 storm late Friday or early Saturday. It would be the first Atlantic hurricane of the season.

As of early Friday, Barry was about 170 kilometers southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with top winds at 100 kph and crawling about 7 kilometers per hour. The slow movement is enabling Barry to suck up more moisture and energy from the warm Gulf waters.

New Orleans, which is already dealing with floods from Wednesday’s fierce rainstorms, is under a tropical storm warning, increasing the chance of flash flooding. The city of Baton Rouge is also facing threats of flash flooding.

As of Friday afternoon, Barry was on a path toward Morgan City, which is surrounded by water and nearly 140 kilometers southwest of New Orleans.

Forecasters predict the city can expect as much as 51 centimeters of additional rain from Barry, pushing the Mississippi River’s crest close to the top of the 6-meter-high levees protecting New Orleans.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has already declared a state of emergency and deployed the National Guard.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for about 10,000 people living near the stretch of the Mississippi closest to the Gulf. A storm surge warning is in effect for southern and southeastern Louisiana.

Along with heavy rain and strong winds, Barry could bring dangerous storm surges and tornadoes before it moves inland and weakens.

Militants stormed a hotel Friday evening in the coastal Somali city of Kismayo, sparking gunbattles and fears of heavy casualties. 
 
The attack began when an explosives-laden car detonated at the front entrance of the Asasey hotel, a popular meeting spot for regional officials and visitors from the diaspora.  Militants then stormed inside and opened fire.  
 
Witnesses told VOA’s Somali service that regional security forces were trading fire with the militants.  The witnesses reported hearing several explosions, presumably from hand grenades. 
 
Jihadist group al-Shabab immediately claimed the responsibility for the attack through al-Andalu Radio, the group’s FM station. 
 
Reuters quoted an al-Shabab spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, as saying, “It was a suicide attack,” and that the fighting was continuing. 
 
A VOA reporter in the town said the number of casualties was unclear. At least one member of Somalia’s federal parliament was thought to have been in the hotel at the time of the attack.  
 
Al-Shabab frequently carries out bombings in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia against government, military and civilian targets. 
 
The attack in Kismayo, about 485 kilometers south of Mogadishu, came amid preparation for regional elections. The port town once served as a major stronghold for al-Shabab militants. 

Officials on Hawaii’s Maui Island say a wildfire has burned over 4,000 hectares and forced thousands of people to evacuate.
 
Authorities say the fire is not yet contained, but say evacuated residents have been allowed to return to their homes because the immediate threat has passed.
 
Officials cautioned residents and visitors Friday to be on alert for possible changing conditions in the wildfire.
 
The aggressive brushfire broke out in Maui’s central valley on Thursday morning, local time, and quickly spread because of steady winds of up to 30 kph.
 
Two coastal communities were evacuated on Thursday, Maalaea and Kihei, with shelters being set up in nearby areas to accommodate people. Residents have been allowed to return home, but officials say the shelters will remain on standby in case the fire flares up again.
 
No injuries or significant property damage has been reported from the fire.
 
On Thursday, Hawaii Gov. David Ige thanked television star Oprah Winfrey for allowing local authorities access to her private road near her home on Maui to help with the evacuations.
 
“A big mahalo to Oprah for giving mauicounty access to your private road for use to assist in the Mauifire,” he wrote on Twitter.
 
Kahului Airport was briefly closed on Thursday and flights were diverted because of the smoke.

House Democrats are considering a delay of special counsel Robert Mueller’s high-profile hearing next week because of concerns over the short length of the scheduled hearings before two committees.  
 
The House Judiciary and Intelligence committees are considering delaying the July 17 hearing as they negotiate with Mueller’s representatives and the Justice Department over the hearing’s format, according to two people familiar with the talks. The delay would be in exchange for more time for questioning.

One of the people said the hearing would be delayed a week, to July 24. The people requested anonymity to discuss the private negotiations and because the talks were still fluid.
 
Mueller is scheduled to testify before the two committees in open session. He had expressed his reluctance to testify, and has said he won’t go beyond the report.

A spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee would not confirm the possible delay.
 
“At this moment we still plan to have our hearing on the 17th and we will let you know if that changes,” said Daniel Schwartz, spokesman for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is getting support from an unlikely source — the president — in her fight with freshmen Democrats.

Republican Donald Trump is defending top Democrat Pelosi and says Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York should treat Pelosi “with respect” — in Trump’s words.
Trump also says Pelosi is “not a racist.”

Ocasio-Cortez has accused Pelosi of “singling out” her and fellow freshmen – all women of color – for criticism.

Tensions between Pelosi and some younger, more progressive first-term House Democrats have become public recently and it’s threatening party unity.

Just last month, as House Democrats clamored for impeachment proceedings against Trump, the president told Fox News Channel that Pelosi is a “nasty, vindictive, horrible” person.

The California Democrat later said of Trump: “I’m done with him.”

U.S. authorities plan to start arresting immigrants eligible for deportations in 10 cities this weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.

Trump previously warned last month about the planned deportations, which were earlier reported by the New York Times.

Courses in Islamic studies are being offered at many colleges and universities in the United States. And it’s not just Muslims signing up for those classes, as VOA’s Ali Orokzai notes in this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.

Bariatric surgery shrinks the stomach so people battling obesity can lose weight and regain their health. It’s a drastic, life-changing procedure, but as VOA’s Carol Pearson reports, some doctors think it should be done more often, before patients become severely obese.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a Social Media Summit Thursday, inviting conservative media, pundits, think tanks and social media influencers. Trump claims that conservative views are being censored online, by platforms including Twitter, Google and Facebook — tech-giants who were not invited to the summit. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized Bitcoin, Facebook’s proposed Libra

digital coin and other cryptocurrencies and demanded that companies seek a banking charter and make themselves subject to U.S. and global regulations if they wanted to “become a bank.”

“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” Trump wrote on Twitter.”If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National and International,” he added.

Trump’s comments come one day after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers that Facebook’s plan to build a digital currency called Libra cannot move forward unless it addresses concerns over privacy, money laundering, consumer protection and financial stability.

Powell said the Fed has established a working group to follow the project and is coordinating with other government’s central banks. The U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council, a panel of regulators that identifies risks to the financial system, is also expected to make a review.

Hours earlier on Thursday, Trump criticized large technology companies at an event at the White House, who he said treated conservative voices unfairly.

The Internet Association, a trade group representing major tech firms like Facebook, Twitter and Google, said, “Internet companies are not biased against any political ideology, and conservative voices in particular have used social media to great effect.”

An expanded alliance between Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG that includes a partnership in Ford self-driving unit Argo AI could redraw the balance of power in autonomous vehicles.

A Ford-VW collaboration with Argo, the Pittsburgh-based startup that has spearheaded Ford’s self-driving development since 2017, could help reduce the engineering and financial burdens on each automaker. It could also accelerate the deployment timetables of both, which have said they plan to put autonomous vehicles into operation in 2021.

Argo has been overlooked as Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving subsidiary, has deployed its robo-vans, and General Motors Co.’s Cruise Automation subsidiary has raked in billions of dollars in investments.

Scale and resources

With VW, the world’s biggest automaker by sales volume last year, Argo would be aligned with a partner with substantial scale and resources.

Ford and VW said Thursday they are expanding their global alliance and that the two companies’ chief executives would hold a news conference in New York Friday, where they are expected to announce details on a technology-sharing agreement.

A Ford-VW deal that involves Argo could also have broader implications for similar alliances, as well as valuations of related startup companies.

Earlier estimates of Argo’s value have ranged from $2 billion to $4 billion. Depending on the size of a VW investment, that valuation could rise to $7 billion, according to a source familiar with the Ford-VW discussions.

Other players

In comparison, the value of Cruise jumped to $19 billion earlier this year after it attracted more than $6 billion in investments from SoftBank Group, Honda Motor Co. and T. Rowe Price.

The value of ride services firm Uber Technologies’ Advanced Technologies Group climbed to more than $7 billion earlier this year after SoftBank, Toyota Motor Corp. and Denso Corp. invested $1 billion.

Those valuations are dwarfed by the estimates for Waymo, which is widely acknowledged as the sector leader. Morgan Stanley values Waymo at up to $175 billion, while Jefferies values the company at up to $250 billion.

Both estimates take into account Waymo’s nascent robotaxi business and potential future revenue streams from a delivery service and from streamed in-vehicle services, including e-commerce and infotainment.

VW, whose Audi unit heads the German automaker’s Automated Intelligence Driving (AID) unit in Munich, reportedly considered a $13.7 billion investment last year in Waymo for a 10 percent stake that would have valued Waymo at $137 billion.

VW recently concluded a development agreement with Aurora, the Silicon Valley self-driving startup that includes Hyundai Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles among its customers. Fiat Chrysler also supplies vehicles to Waymo.

Aurora is valued at $2.5 billion. Investors include Hyundai and Amazon Inc.

Argo, which is majority-owned by the No. 2 U.S. automaker, is part of Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC. Ford set up the unit in 2018, pledging to invest $4 billion until 2023.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has voted to launch an investigation into the alleged killings of tens of thousands of Filipinos during the government’s war on drugs.

The measure, put forward by Iceland, was approved 18-14 Thursday. It cites extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and disappearances at the hands of police since President Rodrigo Duterte launched the anti-narcotics campaign in 2016.

Philippines ambassador in Geneva,  Evan Garcia,  immediately rebuked the U.N. move saying it “does not represent a triumph of human rights, but a travesty of them.”

Filipino activists have claimed that about 27,000 people have been killed as police terrorize poor communities, using cursory drug “watch lists” to identify users or dealers. The government counters that about 6,600 people have been killed by police in shootouts with drug dealers.

The resolution was welcomed by human rights groups. “This vote provides hope for thousands of bereaved families in the Philippines,” Amnesty International said in a statement. “It’s a crucial step towards justice and accountability.”

Congressional Democrats hope to put last month’s scuffle over the $4.6 billion emergency border bill behind them with renewed oversight of the Trump administration’s immigration policies and legislation to strengthen protections for families detained at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The push comes amid reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will begin nationwide immigration raids Sunday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday, “It’s never too late to do the right thing for the children, and when it comes to children, again, I’m the lioness, I’m just going to protect our cubs. And so we’re going to use every legislative tactic at our disposal.”  

House legislation

House Democrats introduced a series of measures earlier this week intended to address the gap between a House-passed bill restricting the Trump administration’s operations on the border and the Senate version of the bill that ended up passing both chambers in June.

Democratic leadership had to quell a rebellion from House progressives who objected to voting for the Senate version of the bill, which provided emergency funding to address the humanitarian crisis at the border. A handful of Democrats refused to vote for that bill on the ground it enabled the Trump administration’s treatment of asylum-seekers.

Pelosi declined to answer if she would attach this week’s measures to must-pass legislation, a move that would avoid a repeat of the embarrassing scenario the leadership encountered last month.

Republican leadership pointed to the new legislation as proof Democrats were finally acknowledging problems on the border.

“I’m just excited that now the Democrats realize there’s a crisis,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California said. “The problem is their lack of action made the crisis worse, or lack of action when it comes to the supplemental.”

Republicans argue Democrats have failed to address increases in undocumented immigration, harming the children and families they want to help.

“By refusing to address our border crisis, we invite child smuggling and child abuse,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on the Senate floor Thursday. “Nobody who is compassionate, nobody who wants to be virtuous, nobody who cares about other human beings would want to perpetuate what is happening at the border for even a single day.”

Detention policy

But Democrats argue the Trump administration is creating the crisis. Senate Democrats Thursday introduced legislation addressing the administration’s family detention policy, while recognizing it has no chance of passing the Republican-controlled chamber.

“If Democrats were in the majority, we’d move this legislation immediately,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. “We’re not. And the question looms: Will [Majority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell stand up for the children and work with us to pass these new standards into law?”

The bill would seek a legislative end to the policy of separating migrant parents from children, along with mandating congressional oversight of children in custody.
 
“This is a conscious policy decision by this administration to create what they call a deterrent, to make the mistreatment of people at the border a signal and message to people across the world that the door is closed in the United States for asylum and for refuge. And they’re doing this in a conscious manner,” Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said.

The effort in both chambers provides Democratic lawmakers with political cover with constituents concerned about Trump administration policies. But lawmakers are likely to gain more traction with oversight efforts in committees.
 
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Friday will examine claims of inhumane conditions by members of Congress who visited border detention facilities, as well as hear testimony from officials charged with oversight of the government agencies overseeing detention facilities. In a hearing next week, the committee will hear testimony from acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan.

Additionally, the House Judiciary Committee authorized subpoenas Thursday that would assist an investigation into administration policies at the border.

The investigation would require administration officials to answer questions about reports President Donald Trump offered then-Customs and Border Protection Commissioner McAleenan a pardon if he was jailed for obeying a presidential order denying asylum seekers entry into the United States.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri could edge out his main challenger in the event of an election runoff later this year, according to an opinion poll published on Thursday, one of the first since candidates officially announced their plans to run.

The poll from local firm Management & Fit suggested Macri would win by 2 percentage points in a head-to-head contest with Peronist rival Alberto Fernandez, whose running mate is populist former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

The report was based on 2,000 voters polled online, by telephone and in person. The narrow advantage, however, is less than the poll’s margin of error of 2.2% and comes months before the first voting round on Oct. 27.

According to the poll, Macri and his running mate, moderate Peronist Miguel Angel Pichetto, would win 45% of the votes in an election runoff scenario, with the Fernandez ticket at 42.9%.

A second-round runoff would take place on Nov. 24 if no candidate wins at least 45% of the first-round vote in October, or a minimum of 40% of the vote with a margin of at least a 10 percentage points over second place.

The poll indicated that Fernandez would narrowly win with the electorate able to vote for the full range of candidates — mirroring the process of the first round of voting — but not by a large enough margin to avoid a runoff.

Alberto Fernandez and Cristina Fernandez are not related.

Macri, elected in 2015, has come under fire since last year amid a biting recession and economic turmoil that saw the peso tumble against the dollar and annual inflation climb above 50%, denting his popularity with voters.

However, the economy has shown some recent signs of improvement, with a stronger peso, inflation stabilizing, bond yields falling and local equities near a record high.

Alberto Fernandez has criticized Macri’s policies and vowed to “rework” a huge financing deal with the International Monetary Fund for $56.3 billion that Macri agreed to last year.

The Fernandez ticket has yet to announce a detailed economic plan, though they have said they would look to tackle unemployment and the sharp slump in industrial production.

Investors, however, are wary of Cristina Fernandez — who is running for vice president — because of her past populist economic policies.

A look at the process of collecting information that would weaken a political opponent.

Sri Lanka’s government on Thursday defeated a no-confidence motion in Parliament that accused it of failing to prevent Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed more than 250 people.

The motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government was defeated by a vote of 119 lawmakers against to 92 in favor. The motion, submitted by the opposition Peoples’ Liberation Party, said the government should not remain in office because it failed to respond to intelligence reports ahead of the attacks by Islamic extremists on three churches and three luxury hotels.

Wickremesinghe’s defeat of the motion is expected to strengthen his hand in his rivalry with the country’s president, Maithripala Sirisena, ahead of elections slated for this year _ including a presidential election which both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe are expected to contest.

The motion was debated on Wednesday and Thursday.

During the debate, opposition lawmakers blamed Wickremesinghe and the government for failing to prevent the April 21 attack, despite the fact that “proper information” was available regarding the attackers. Government supporters argued it was unfair to blame the government and prime minister when the security establishment, including police, was under the control of Sirisena, who is also the country’s defense minister.

The attack by seven suicide bombers from a local Muslim group, National Thowheed Jammath, was the worst violence by Islamic State group-linked militants in South Asia.

Sri Lankan leaders and the security establishment came under fire for not acting on near-specific intelligence information on possible attacks on churches. The government has acknowledged that some intelligence units were aware of possible attacks weeks before the bombings.

Sirisena’s enmity with Wickremesinghe and his Cabinet and a lack of communication between the two leaders is also considered a key factor in the breakdown of intelligence sharing ahead of the attacks.

Sirisena, who was health minister under former strongman President Mahinda Rajapaksa, quit that government and teamed up with Wickremesinghe to defeat Rajapaksa in the 2015 presidential election.

However, the two leaders fell out and their rivalry became public last October when Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa as prime minister. The crisis brought the country to a standstill for seven weeks and was only resolved after a court ordered Sirisena to reinstate Wickremesinghe.

Sirisena has said he was kept in the dark on intelligence about the attacks and vowed to “take stern action” against officials who failed to share it.

Following the attack, national police chief Pujith Jayasundara was suspended and former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando resigned. Both were arrested last week for alleged criminal negligence and later released on bail.

A parliamentary committee is looking into intelligence failures despite objections by Sirisena after some officials hinted at shortcomings by the president.

Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is recovering from a third surgery after experiencing complications resulting from his gunshot wound.
 
Ortiz’s wife, Tiffany, says in a statement Thursday that he is “recovering well and in good spirits.” He had the surgery earlier this week at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Ortiz was shot in the back at a bar in the Dominican Republic last month. Dominican police have said he was mistaken for another man who was sitting near him at the club.
 

Police say a suspected drug trafficker offered to pay $30,000 for the shooting.

Police say they’ve arrested 14 people in the case, including the suspected gunman, and are searching for others.