Americas

29 articles

Mangione guilty plea opens fight over New York murder case

Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty on August 14 to two US federal stalking charges and is due to be sentenced on December 18. His lawyers now say New York’s murder case is barred by the state’s broader double-jeopardy law, a claim prosecutors will contest.

APPI News Editorial 4 min

US court clears end of protections for nearly 1,100 Somalis

A US federal judge lifted a court-ordered pause on August 14, allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Somalia. The decision affects an estimated 1,082 approved beneficiaries and applies a June Supreme Court ruling that narrowed available legal challenges.

APPI News Editorial 4 min

Noboa returns to China as Ecuador’s two-way trade expands

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa is scheduled to visit China from August 16 to 23, his second trip there since taking office. The talks follow a rise in trade with China and Ecuador’s signing of a separate reciprocal trade agreement with the United States.

APPI News Editorial 3 min

US judge delays Tate brothers’ detention hearing to August 27

A US magistrate judge on August 13 postponed Andrew and Tristan Tate’s detention hearing to August 27, leaving the brothers in federal custody as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom. Their lawyers sought more time to answer prosecutors, while the extradition hearing itself remains unscheduled.

APPI News Editorial 3 min

Karoline Leavitt to leave White House post at end of August

Karoline Leavitt will leave as White House press secretary at the end of August, US President Donald Trump announced on August 12, 2026. Trump said she would become an outside adviser as Republicans prepare for the November 2026 US midterm elections, but he did not name a successor.

APPI News Editorial 3 min

US cuts federal Medicaid funds for some transgender youth care

The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a final rule on August 13 that ends federal matching funds for specified gender-affirming treatments on October 13. States may finance them separately, while a six-month federal transition applies only to people already receiving cross-sex hormone therapy.

APPI News Editorial 4 min

Trump revives 11-disease childhood vaccine plan in new order

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 10 recognizing an 11-disease core childhood immunization list and calling for separate measles, mumps and rubella shots. Separate products are not currently available in the United States, while state school mandates do not change automatically.

APPI News Editorial 5 min

British Columbia wildfire forces more than 20,000 to flee

British Columbia declared a provincewide state of emergency on August 8 after the Bald Range wildfire forced more than 20,000 people from communities along Okanagan Lake. An evacuation order requires people to leave immediately, while an alert tells them to prepare to leave on short notice.

APPI News Editorial 2 min

US offers more than $100 million for eight CJNG figures

The United States announced more than $100 million in rewards on August 5 for information leading to the arrests or convictions of eight people tied to Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The largest offer, up to $25 million, targets Juan Carlos Valencia González, whom US court filings identify as the cartel's new leader.

APPI News Editorial 3 min

Trump renews attempt to narrow US birthright citizenship

US President Donald Trump signed two immigration actions on August 6 that seek to narrow birthright citizenship and restrict travel intended for giving birth in the United States. The measures reopen a legal dispute weeks after the US Supreme Court rejected his broader 2025 order.

APPI News Editorial 3 min

US Senate panel advances contempt case against Anthony Fauci

A US Senate committee voted 8-5 on August 6 to hold former federal health official Anthony Fauci in contempt after he declined to answer questions about the COVID-19 response. The dispute centers on whether a 2025 presidential pardon removed his risk of prosecution and therefore his basis for invoking the Fifth Amendment.

APPI News Editorial 4 min

US Senate confirms Erica Schwartz to lead depleted CDC

The US Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a 51-44 vote on August 5. She takes over after repeated leadership changes and the loss of more than one-quarter of the agency's workforce.

APPI News Editorial 3 min

Truck bomb wounds 11 officers at police base in Colombia

A truck exploded outside the police headquarters in Cúcuta, Colombia, before dawn on August 1, wounding 11 officers and killing a police dog. The government blamed the National Liberation Army, but the attribution had not been established in court.

APPI News Editorial 2 min

Nursing mother challenges ICE detention under agency policy

Lawyers for a Guatemalan mother detained in Nashville on May 19, 2026, have asked a US federal court to order her release. They say her detention conflicts with an ICE directive covering pregnant, postpartum and nursing people, while the US government cites undisclosed charges.

APPI News Editorial 4 min

New Mexico sues child welfare agency over teen sent to Mexico

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued the state's child welfare agency on July 28 after staff allegedly sent a 15-year-old US citizen across the border into Mexico alone. The state seeks the teenager's return and a court-order requirement for future placements outside the United States.

APPI News Editorial 4 min

Haitian and Syrian TPS protections expire after US court ruling

Temporary Protected Status and related work authorization ended for roughly 350,000 Haitians in late July after a US Supreme Court ruling removed lower-court restraints. The same judgment cleared the termination of protection for more than 6,000 Syrians and sharply limited review of the US homeland security secretary's decisions.

APPI News Editorial 4 min