In brief: Rain-caused landslides kill 13 in eastern Mexico
VERACRUZ, Mexico – Landslides triggered by torrential rains dumped by the remnants of Tropical Storm Fernand killed at least 13 people in Veracruz state, authorities said Monday as the storm weakened to a tropical depression and carried heavy rains inland over eastern Mexico.
Nine people died in the town of Yecuatla, three in the port city of Tuxpan and one more in the town of Atzalan, Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte said.
A landslide of rock and mud swept onto four homes in the village of Roca de Oro, which is part of the town of Yecuatla, killing nine people in their sleep before dawn Monday.
Missing Arizona teen found dead in Oregon
PORTLAND – A southern Oregon sheriff’s office said the body of an Arizona teenager missing since last week has been found near where his SUV was abandoned in a wooded area.
Douglas County sheriff’s spokesman Dwes Hutson said in a statement that Johnathan Croom’s body was found Monday evening about 1,000 feet from his vehicle. Hutson said the death “is being investigated as a suicide.”
Croom, 18, talked with his parents about the book “Into the Wild” and told a friend he wanted to run away.
Iranian court rejects Boise pastor’s appeal
BOISE – A human-rights group said an Iranian court has rejected an appeal by a Boise pastor sentenced to eight years in prison.
The American Center for Law and Justice said the Tehran Court of Appeals on Sunday refused to reduce Saeed Abedini’s sentence.
Abedini, who is of Iranian origin but lives in Boise, has been jailed in Iran since September.
He was charged with attempting to undermine state security by creating a network of Christian churches in private homes. He was tried and sentenced in January.
Federal appeals court rules against government
NEW YORK – A federal appeals court said prosecutors can’t use a defendant’s request for a lawyer as evidence of guilt.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York noted Monday that it was touching new legal ground as it ruled against the government in a case prosecuted in Albany, N.Y.
The appeals court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of charges relating to illegally bringing an alien into the United States. The case involved the arrest of a U.S. citizen who had tried to enter the country with a German citizen in 2010 near Buffalo, N.Y.
Snowfall blocks road to Atacama Desert
SANTIAGO, Chile – A rare snowfall in Chile’s Atacama Desert has delighted visitors to one of the world’s driest areas.
Residents of San Pedro de Atacama said the weekend snow was the heaviest in three decades for the desert city, 750 miles north of the capital, Santiago.
But local officials say they are concerned the snow and rain that fell over the weekend could cause some rivers to flood as has happened in the past.
The national tourism office says the road to San Pedro de Atacama was temporarily blocked due to the unusual weather.