Venezuela

talks resume

CARACAS (AP) — The State Department says the United States and Venezuela have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations in a major shift in a historically adversarial relationship.

The move comes after rounds of Trump administration officials have visited the South American nation after a U.S. military operation deposed of former President Nicolás Maduro in January. Since then, the Trump administration has been stepping up pressure on Maduro loyalists who now run the oil rich nation.

Relations between the two countries were cut off following another geopolitical debacle in 2019, during the first Trump administration.

Mom charged

with murder

CLEVELAND (AP) — Police say the mother of two girls found buried inside suitcases in a Cleveland field has been charged with two counts of murder. Twenty-eight-year-old Aliyah Henderson is accused of killing Mila Chatman and Amor Wilson. Their remains were recovered after a dog walker led authorities to the suitcases four days earlier.

Mila’s father, DeShaun Chatman, says he had been looking for his daughter and pursuing custody for five years before investigators told him late Wednesday that she was dead. Phone numbers linked to Henderson were no longer hers, and it was unclear if she was represented by a lawyer.

Suspect detained

in Colorado

TORREY, Utah (AP) — Officials say a man who authorities accuse of killing a southern Utah woman, stealing her vehicle and driving it to a nearby trailhead and killing two other women, has been arrested. The Utah Department of Public Safety said Thursday that two women were found dead on a hiking trail a day earlier, and a third woman was found dead at her home nearby.

They didn’t identify the women but say one was in her 30s, one was in her 60s and one was in her 80s. Authorities say there is no indication the suspect had any connection to the victims.

Britney Spears

arrested

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol near her Southern California home. Authorities say Spears was pulled over after reports that her BMW was driving fast and erratically on a highway on Wednesday night.

The California Highway Patrol says she was jailed after taking a series of field sobriety tests. A representative for Spears calls the incident “completely inexcusable” and says she plans to comply with the law and seek help.

Jail records show she was booked early Thursday and released later in the morning. The district attorney will decide on charges.