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Rescuers race
against clock
PEREIRA, Colombia (AP) -- The search for life in the rubble of Colombia’s powerful earthquake is growing more desperate as search teams push up against a key time threshold to locate survivors before it’s too late.
The devastation is testing Colombia’s new president as his government scrambles to respond to the natural disaster and ensure aid makes to the vulnerable communities most affected by Monday’s quake and more than 100 aftershocks.
Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours crucial for retrieving people alive, though that limit can be extended if those trapped have access to food and water.
Nick Reiner
indicted
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Los Angeles County grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner on murder charges in the killing of his parents, actor Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, includes an allegation that Reiner was lying in wait before attacking them. The couple was stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on December 14. Nick Reiner was arrested hours later and charged two days after the incident.
The indictment allows prosecutors to skip California’s preliminary hearing process. The lying in wait allegation makes Reiner eligible for the death penalty, though prosecutors haven’t decided whether to seek it.
Drone targets
commander
(AP) -- Israel’s military says it struck a Hamas commander in northern Gaza targeted drone strike. The attack Wednesday marks the first targeted strike Israel has announced since Aug. 3.
Targeted strikes have come under closer scrutiny since President Donald Trump announced a deal aimed at advancing peace efforts in Gaza that would include halting them.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Trump’s plan earlier this week days after meeting with Board of Peace officials who urged Israel to stop the strikes. The Israeli military did not provide details about the man targeted or say whether he was killed.
Ex-official
faces charges
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) -- Newly unsealed court records show that a former Southern Poverty Law Center official has been charged in the Department of Justice’s broader criminal case against the Alabama-based civil rights group.
Heidi Beirich is a political extremism expert who left the law center about six years ago. She made her initial court appearance in California on Wednesday. Her lawyer says Beirich is innocent and contends that prosecutors are trying to punish his client for her “decades-long record of success dismantling hate groups.”
The charges include wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank.