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  • Thelma Aldana, Guatemala’s crusading prosecutor, exits amid praise, threats

    It’s been a long time since it was safe for Thelma Aldana to go out in public alone, and perhaps it never will be again.

    GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — It’s been a long time since it was safe for Thelma Aldana to go out in public alone, and perhaps it never will be again.

    As chief prosecutor for Guatemala, Aldana won plaudits at home and abroad as the woman who sent a president to prison and broke up a number of high-level corruption rings. But it came at a cost — her own personal safety — as her crusading angered some of the country’s most powerful and dangerous people, long accustomed to doing as they pleased with little or no consequences.

    The biggest trophy on her wall from four years in office: Taking down a network allegedly led by then-President Otto Perez Molina, who is accused of defrauding the state of millions of dollars.

    “In the Bible it says you shall know them by their fruits, and I gave my best effort,” Aldana said in a series of interviews with The Associated Press as she prepares to leave office when her term ends this month. “With all modesty, I leave with my head high.”

    Those close to her call the 62-year-old Aldana “the boss.” She is described as a strictly punctual person and a voracious reader. Appearing before news cameras to announce the latest corruption ring to fall, she typically appears calm, collected and intrepid. Her facial expression is often tough and inscrutable, making it difficult to guess what she is thinking.

    It seems the only one able to crack that demeanor is Toby, her 5-year-old Shih Tzu. Speaking to the AP in a small room at her offices decorated with recognitions where she likes to receive visitors, Aldana broke into a broad smile recalling how when she brings work home, Toby likes to rest in the cardboard box she uses to carry the same documents that could end up putting criminals and politicians behind bars.

    Aldana’s long path to becoming Guatemala’s top prosecutor began in 1981 as a low-level judicial counselor and progressed through a number of posts — including Supreme Court president in 2011. She holds a master’s degree in civil law and another pending that is related to women’s rights and gender issues.

    Perez Molina tapped her to be chief prosecutor in 2014, replacing Claudia Paz y Paz, who was the first woman to hold the job and who also angered influential interests and received threats for aggressively prosecuting corruption and human rights abuses dating to Guatemala’s 1960-1990 civil war.

    Perez Molina, who had been a powerful general in one of the region’s most feared armies during the conflict, likely never imagined that his downfall would come not on the battlefield but in a courtroom and at the hands of a woman he himself selected.

    Indeed, at the time many Guatemalans also thought it improbable that Aldana would investigate suspicions of corruption on the part of the man who picked her for the post.

    Ivan Velasquez, a Colombian lawyer, heads a U.N.-sponsored anti-corruption commission that has been a key partner with Aldana’s office in investigating corruption cases and bringing them to trial.

    Velasquez told the AP that trust did not come immediately between him and Aldana, but over time they developed a close working relationship where they were able to reconcile differences and reach consensus. What cemented his confidence was when she didn’t shy from going after Perez Molina.

    Aldana did not hesitate at “a very critical moment,” Velasquez said, praising her strength and valor in the job.

    Perez Molina, who denies wrongdoing, is currently behind bars along with his then vice president and others from his inner circle.

    In 2017 alone, Aldana’s office won 9,358 convictions. She has also made great strides in clearing what has been a crushing backlog: In 2014 prosecutors had 1,280,378 unresolved cases. Today that has been reduced by over half.

    Last year, Time magazine named her one of the world’s most influential people, along with the likes of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Academy Award-winning actor Viola Davis and Brazilian soccer star Neymar. She was named a recipient of the U.S. State Department’s 2016 International Women of Courage Award. But her personal favorite among dozens of other recognitions is a wand of authority presented to her by indigenous Guatemalan leaders.

    The work has been far from glamorous — more of a slow slog, she says.

    “Fighting corruption is a process, and it is not easy,” Aldana said.

    Aldana said the last four years had been by far the toughest of the 37 she has spent working in Guatemala’s judicial system.

    One of the hardest moments came when current President Jimmy Morales, whom she and Velasquez sought to investigate on suspicion of illegal campaign financing, seemed ready to expel Velasquez from the country. Aldana rallied to her colleague’s defense.

    “I announced that if he left, I would resign,” Aldana recalled.

    Along the way there have been numerous death threats, harassment and attempts to sully her character. In 2016 government officials confirmed that a criminal group had paid for a hit on Aldana that was never carried out.

    Today she lives under protective measures provided by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and has been forced to abandon the routines of daily life.

    “I practically do not go to public places and I cannot walk in the street. I always have to be accompanied by a security team,” Aldana said. “My way of life changed drastically. … We have investigated powerful criminal structures, and as a consequence I must behave with great caution.”

    She added that she worries about safety after she leaves office, saying, “It will be the responsibility of the Guatemalan state to protect my life, and that of my family.”

    Though the law did not bar Aldana from seeking a new term as prosecutor, she said she decided against it for security concerns and because she was convinced Morales would never have agreed for her to continue.

    On Thursday, Morales selected career jurist and Constitutional Court alternate magistrate Maria Consuelo Porras to replace Aldana effective May 17. Some civil society groups have expressed concern over Porras’ military ties, but institutions such as the U.N. commission and the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office asked Guatemalans to give her the benefit of the doubt. At a news conference, Porras promised to work with the U.N. body.

    Asked how she wants to be remembered, Aldana expressed pride over spearheading efforts to raise national attention to violence against women and said she hopes she has proved to Guatemalans that an independent prosecutor’s office is possible.

    “It is a precious commodity,” she said.

    She confessed she feels she owes a debt to her family and hopes to make up for lost time with her two children, ages 21 and 24. In retirement, “the boss” hopes to become a professor, drawing on her career experience to teach a new generation about prosecuting crime and corruption.

    For now, Aldana has a more personal wish: To take in, on TV and in real time, the entirety of this summer’s World Cup, something that until now has been impossible due to the demands of office.

    “I have always had to watch it at night, delayed. But now I have a desire to watch it live.” she said. “After that I will see what to do with my professional life.”

  • Vladimir Putin promises economic reforms as he takes oath of office

    Vladimir Putin took the oath of office for his fourth term as Russian president on Monday and promised to pursue an economic agenda that would boost living standards across the country.

    MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin took the oath of office for his fourth term as Russian president on Monday and promised to pursue an economic agenda that would boost living standards across the country.

    In a ceremony in an ornate Kremlin hall, Putin said improving Russia’s economy following a recession partly linked to international sanctions would be a primary goal of his next six-year term.

    “Now, we must use all existing possibilities, first of all for resolving internal urgent tasks of development, for economic and technological breakthroughs, for raising competitiveness in those spheres that determine the future,” he said in his speech to thousands of guests standing in the elaborate Andreevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace and two adjacent halls.

    “A new quality of life, well-being, security and people’s health — that’s what’s primary today,” he said.

    Although Putin has restored Russia’s prominence on the world stage through military actions, he has been criticized for inadequate efforts to diversify Russia’s economy away from its dependence on oil and gas exports and to develop the manufacturing sector.

    Putin held onto the presidency in March’s election when he tallied 77 percent of the vote.

    Putin has effectively been the leader of Russia for all of the 21st century. He stepped down from the presidency in 2008 because of term limits, but was named prime minister and continued to steer the country until he returned as president in 2012.

  • Nicolas Maduro-Mauricio Marci feud defines foreign relations

    One is a former bus driver and union leader with a soft spot for Cuban-style fatigues and Cuban-style political authoritarianism. The other is a millionaire heir and soccer czar, a onetime business pa

    Buenos Aires | One is a former bus driver and union leader with a soft spot for Cuban-style fatigues and Cuban-style political authoritarianism. The other is a millionaire heir and soccer czar, a onetime business partner of Donald Trump who favors suits from this city’s finest tailors and policies to lift up the country’s once-battered private sector.

    And while they may share a title as presidents of their respective nations, the rift between Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and Argentina’s Mauricio Macri has never been greater, defining the ideological polarization that increasingly marks South American politics these days. With Brazil and Colombia in political limbo as they await national elections, the rebound of Mr. Macri and a number of center-right governments in South America is posing a direct challenge to the old-line leftism embodied by Mr. Maduro and his late predecessor and charismatic mentor, Hugo Chavez.

    The ideological divide is matched by a personal animosity. Mr. Macri’s disdain for the embattled Mr. Maduro was on full display late last month when he all but called for his counterpart’s ouster, telling reporters he wants “what’s happening in Venezuela to come to an end.”

    His comments came days after Argentina had announced it was joining Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru in pulling out of the Union of South American Nations, or UNASUR — a brainchild of Chavez.

    The final straw — largely symbolic as the bloc had effectively lain dormant for years — seems to have been Caracas’ refusal to accept Argentine diplomat Jose Octavio Bordon, a Macri nominee, as its next secretary-general.

    The volatile Mr. Maduro, facing a massive economic and demographic crisis at home as Venezuela’s oil-financed social welfare system nears collapse, meanwhile, characterized Mr. Macri and the region’s other center-right presidents as puppets of Washington.

    “Some leaders of the right let themselves be pressured by the U.S. government to destroy UNASUR,” he said en route to a meeting with new Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel. “[If] some right-wing government tries to stab it and let it bleed to death, we social movement and revolutionaries of South America will defend it.”

    Colorful as they may be, by Mr. Maduro’s standards, the comments were rather tame. In one of his infamous diatribes last year, Venezuela’s head of state had labeled Mr. Macri a “sewer rat” espousing to be the “godfather of the Venezuelan fascist right.”

    Imitating Chavez

    In lashing out, Mr. Maduro seeks to imitate his mentor Chavez, said veteran Venezuelan diplomat Oscar Hernandez Bernalette, though Mr. Maduro’s approval numbers lag his idol’s maximum popularity by some 40 percentage points.

    “Maduro’s attitude is little more than a bad copy of Chavez’s attitude when Chavez had an audience, but he doesn’t have that same audience,” said Mr. Hernandez Bernalette. “His rhetoric likely reaches — and pleases the ears of — his closest collaborators and the few who back him.”

    Most Venezuelans, though, are bewildered by the president’s crude rhetoric and intemperate attacks, said Mr. Hernandez Bernalette, now a prominent columnist for the El Nacional newspaper.

    “Mr. Maduro’s reaction always is to insult, to attack whatever president’s turn it is — in this case Macri,” he said. “Venezuelans overall are mortified every time the head of state, of whom one expects the highest levels of conduct, [does that].”

    But beyond personal grudges, Mr. Macri is carving out a role for himself as champion a more pragmatic, conservative South America that is not instinctively hostile to the private sector, said Gustavo Cardozo, an analyst at the Argentine Center of International Studies in Buenos Aires.

    “He [wants to] focus on trade relations untainted by the kind of extremist ideology the Maduro regime has laid out,” he said. “Maduro constantly attacks Europe and the United States, which are very important markets. Logically, you can’t be in sync with a regime that turns its back on international trade.”

    Mr. Macri’s domestic critics, meanwhile, see a conspiracy to reverse South American integration behind the UNASUR exit, as well as behind last year’s suspension of Venezuela from the Mercosur trade bloc.

    “All that was halted to return our country to the great powers’ axis of dependency,” said Alicia Castro, an Argentine ambassador to Venezuela under Mr. Kirchner and Ms. Fernandez. “The goal is very clear: to destroy our region’s economies.”

    “It’s regrettable that Argentina is aligning itself with Trump to harass and hit Venezuela,” she said. “In Venezuela, there is no ‘interruption of the democratic order’ — that’s Washington propaganda Macri repeats like a parrot.”

    With the rhetoric showing no signs of cooling, though, the next showdown between South America’s rival presidents is already under way, as Mr. Maduro’s plan to hold early presidential elections on May 20 — over the objections of the Venezuelan opposition parties — did not come without commentary from Buenos Aires.

    “We won’t accept the results because that election doesn’t have any validity, however much Mr. Maduro insults me,” Mr. Macri warned last month. “We won’t recognize [him] as a democratic president because there hasn’t been any democracy in Venezuela for quite a while.”

    “Who is Macri to determine what happens in Venezuela?” Mr. Maduro, predictably, shot back. “A dummy of imperialism.”

  • Donald Trump urged by U.K. not to nix Iran nuke deal

    U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday went on President Trump’s favorite TV show to urge him not to quit the Iran nuclear deal, although agreeing with the president’s assessment that it is a

    U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday went on President Trump’s favorite TV show to urge him not to quit the Iran nuclear deal, although agreeing with the president’s assessment that it is a bad deal.

    He stressed that there was no “Plan B” if the U.S. nixes the deal.

    “The president has a legitimate point,” Mr. Johnson said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” which Mr. Trump regularly views. “He set a challenge for the world. We think that what you can do is be tougher on Iran.”

    He said ripping up the Iran deal would be like “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

    Mr. Trump has set a Saturday deadline to decide whether to pull out of the Obama-era agreement that lifted economic sanctions on Iran in return for halting the Islamic regime’s nuclear program until 2025.

    Mr. Johnson is in Washington this week but will not meet with the president. He took to the airwaves to deliver his message to Mr. Trump.

    Similar appeals were delivered directly to Mr. Trump in visits last month by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. France, Germany and the U.K., as well as China and Russia, joined the U.S. in negotiating the deal.

    Mr. Trump’s concerns, from more rigorous inspections of Iran nuclear facilities to extending the moratorium beyond 2025, would be addressed by building on the current deal, Mr. Johnson said.

    “As I say, a Plan B does not seem to me to be particularly well developed at this stage,” the foreign secretary said.

    If Iran begins fast-tracking a nuclear weapon, the option of bombing its nuclear facilities or allowing a nuclear arms race in the volatile Middle East were both bad options, Mr. Johnson said.

    “At the moment there does not seem to be a viable military solution,” he said.

  • Richard Grenell: U.S. and Germany ‘on the same side’ despite differences

    U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell said Monday that despite some differences President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are on the same side.

    U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell said Monday that despite some differences, President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are on the same side.

    “I wish every American can see the way Donald Trump negotiates,” Mr. Grenell said on Fox News.

    He said Mr. Trump’s meeting with Ms. Merkel on Friday went well despite differences on the Iran nuclear agreement and trade policy.

    “He is a great negotiator and she — Angela Merkel — realizes that. They had a great give and take at the end of very tough negotiations. We have some difficult issues with Germany, but we’re totally on the same side,” he said.

    The two met just days after French President Emmanuel Macron came to the U.S. for Mr. Trump’s first official state visit. They also discussed the Iran deal and Mr. Trump criticized Germany for not paying enough in defense spending.

    “We need a reciprocal relationship, which we don’t have,” Mr. Trump said at a joint news conference. “We’re working on it. We have a far greater burden than we should have.”

  • Paris Hilton: “As if I had been raped”

    1 Night in Paris “was the name of the clip the 37-year-old suddenly faced, and she owed the scandal to Rick Salomon himself, who had posted the actually very private video after her breakup – 14 years ago Meanwhile, Paris Hilton is talking about it for the first time in the documentary “The American Meme.” Under the shame, she has suffered a lot, the hotel owner emphasizes today.

    It was like being raped. I felt like I had lost part of my soul. I literally wanted to die at some points, “Hollywood reporter quoted the blonde. In retrospect, however, she was repeatedly assumed to have benefited even from the spicy video. Undoubtedly, the scandal brought beauty to the front, but Paris Hilton dismisses it. “I did not want to be known, I could never be the person I wanted to be,” she continues.

    Today she has left this dark chapter of her past behind. Paris Hilton is a businesswoman and happily engaged to her sweetheart Chris Zylka.

  • ‪‪Donald Trump‬, ‪John F. Kelly‬, ‪Beyaz Saray‬‬

    White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly on Monday denied that he said President Trump is an “idiot,” calling an NBC News story that said he had done so “total BS.”

    Kelly’s statement came about 45 minutes after NBC News published a report that described a number of fights between Trump and his embattled chief of staff. The outlet reported that Kelly often tells senior aides that they have to save the president from himself and his impulses — and that Trump does not understand policy.

    “He doesn’t even understand what DACA is. He’s an idiot,” Kelly told White House aides, according NBC News, which cites two White House officials present for the meeting. DACA refers to a program that protects from deportation young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

    “I spend more time with the President than anyone else and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship. He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS,” Kelly said in a statement released by the White House press office in response to the story.

  • Gigi Hadid & Zayn Malik Are Back Together

    Here is some unexpected celebrity couple news. Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik were seen kissing, according to new photos obtained by TMZ. So does this mean Hadid and Malik are back together? It’s not entirely clear at this point in time if they are officially in a relationship again, but the images are hard to ignore. The model and singer sure do look like they’re having a good time together. (Bustle reached out to reps for Malik and Hadid, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.)

    According to TMZ, Hadid and Malik were hanging out on Sunday, April 29 in New York City, where they were spotted walking around Soho, smiling and sharing a kiss. The photos also show the once beloved celebrity couple helping a homeless man by giving him what appears to be a gift card.

    Their kiss and hangout is somewhat shocking, especially since they announced their breakup in March. In a statement posted on Twitter, the former One Direction singer confirmed their split by writing, “Gigi and I had an incredibly meaningful, loving, and fun relationship and I have a huge amount of respect an adoration for Gigi as a woman and a friend.” He continued, “She has such an incredible soul. I’m grateful to all of our fans for respecting this difficult decision and our privacy at this time, we wish this news could have come from us first. We love you all. xZ”.

    As for Hadid, she also took to Twitter and shared about the two going their separate ways, “Breakup statements often seem impersonal because there is really no way to put into words what two people experience together over a few years .. not only in the relationship, but in life in general.” She then added, “I’m forever grateful for the love, time, and life lessons that Z and I shared. I want nothing but the best for him and will continue to support him as a friend that I have immense respect and love for. As for the future, whatever’s meant to be will aways be. xG”.

    The couple spending time with one another on April 29 is the first time they’ve been seen together publicly since their split. Based on how Hadid ended her March statement confirming the end of their relationship, it seems possible they’ve reconciled. Like she said, “As for the future, whatever’s meant to be will aways be.”

    That said, the kiss the 23-year-old model and “Let Me” artist shared isn’t the only time reconciliation rumors have surfaced. On April 20, People reported Malik visited Hadid at her New York City home. He also reportedly spent the night, because, per People, after arriving at her place on Thursday, April 19, Malik wasn’t seen until the next day, Friday, April 20, leaving her home and reportedly in the same hoodie as he wore the previous day. According to Elle, Malik was spotted at Hadid’s apartment again on April 24.

    On April 13, Malik spoke with Ryan Seacrest for On Air With Ryan Seacrest about his new single, “Let Me”, which he wrote while he was still dating Hadid. He opened up about writing the track and said, “I was in love, and I think that’s pretty evident. I was aspiring to be in love with someone for the rest of my life and the rest of theirs, as we all do. Things change and we move forward in life. Times change, but that’s what I was thinking when I wrote it.”

    Clearly, times have changed for Hadid and Malik, but maybe not as much as people originally thought since they were recently seen kissing. Who knows what’s going on between them, but you know fans are going to want answers — and stat.

  • Dust Storm Warning Issued for Eastern Nebraska

    Counties In Warning Area According to National Weather Service

    Monona-Harrison-Shelby-Pottawattamie-Mills-Montgomery-Fremont- Page-Thurston-Pierce-Wayne-Boone-Madison-Stanton-Cuming-Burt- Platte-Colfax-Dodge-Washington-Butler-Saunders-Douglas-Sarpy- Seward-Lancaster-Cass-Otoe-Saline-Jefferson-Gage-Johnson-Nemaha- Pawnee-Richardson-

    NWS SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR BLOWING DUST

    Windy conditions this afternoon are producing blowing dust and reduced visibilities. Wind gusts to around 55 mph can be expected. These winds will continue through the afternoon and then diminish to 20 to 30 mph with gusts near 35 mph by 9 PM. Fields are being planted across much of the region and there are a number of active construction sites. These winds will create areas of blowing dust and dirt. This will result in localized areas of extremely low or near zero visibility. Drivers should use caution on Interstate 80…Highways 6 and 92…and all east-west oriented roads.

  • Judge faces punishment for sex acts in courthouse

    Massachusetts’ highest court will meet to consider the punishment for a judge who admitted to having a relationship with a courthouse employee that included sexual encounters in his chambers.

    BOSTON (AP) – Massachusetts’ highest court will meet to consider the punishment for a judge who admitted to having a relationship with a courthouse employee that included sexual encounters in his chambers.

    The Supreme Judicial Court will hold a hearing Tuesday to explore sanctions for Judge Thomas Estes for his affair with social worker Tammy Cagle.

    The Commission on Judicial Conduct wants Estes to be suspended indefinitely to give lawmakers time to decide whether to remove him from the bench. The last time Massachusetts lawmakers ousted a judge was in 1973.

    Cagle has accused Estes of pressuring her into performing oral sex on him in his chambers and her home. Estes says the relationship was consensual and that the humiliation he has experienced calls for a more lenient punishment of a four-month suspension.