Suspended Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been found guilty of sexually abusing a child.

Dominican prosecutors have requested that suspended Tampa Bay Rays player Wander Franco be sentenced to five years in prison for his alleged crimes.

The owner of an iconic nightclub in the Domincan Republic whose roof collapsed in April and killed 236 people has been arrested along with his sister.

The Mexican national soccer team will change hotels in Los Angeles ahead of their Gold Cup match on Saturday because of safety concerns amid the protests against immigration raids in the city.

The trial of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco started Monday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco went to trial June 2 in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl.

The first known lawsuit has been filed against the owners of a legendary nightclub whose roof collapsed and killed 231 people in the Dominican Republic.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is visiting the Dominican Republic to pay his respects to the scores of people who died last week when the roof of a popular nightclub collapsed.

Health officials say four people hospitalized after being rescued from the rubble of a roof collapse at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic died overnight.

A roof collapse at the legendary Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo has plunged the Dominican Republic into mourning.

Legendary music icon Rubby Pérez has died.

The number of people killed when a roof collapsed at an iconic nightclub in the Dominican Republic has surged to 221.

Dominican-born Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez says he has family members unaccounted for who were inside the Santo Domingo nightclub when its roof collapsed.

The number of victims who died after a roof collapsed at an iconic nightclub has surged to 184 as dozens of people lingered outside the Dominican Republic’s forensic institute for news of their loved ones still missing more than a day after disaster struck.

Rescuers are frantically searching overnight for more survivors in the rubble of the iconic Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican Republic’s capital.

Former major league relief pitcher Octavio Dotel was among the dead after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in his native Dominican Republic where he was attending a merengue concert.

The roof of an iconic nightclub in the capital of the Dominican Republic collapsed nearly an hour after a merengue concert began earlier this week, killing at least 221 people and injuring over 200.

Lawyers for Joshua Roshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota who is believed to be the last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki in the Dominican Republic, say he has left the Caribbean country.

The search for a U.S. college student who went missing in the Dominican Republic intensified on Monday after a man questioned by authorities visited the beach where she was last seen and spoke with officials.

Investigators are continuing the search for a college student from Virginia who vanished earlier this month while visiting the Dominican Republic.

Police in the Dominican Republic say the FBI has joined the search for a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student who went missing nearly a week ago while on spring break.

Authorities in the Dominican Republic are searching for a 20-year-old university student from the U.S. who went missing in the popular tourist town of Punta Cana while on vacation.

Despite years of corruption and criticism, the entry point for talented players from the Dominican Republic into Major League Baseball's development pipeline remains a Wild West form of free agency.

Dominican officials have been deporting at least 10,000 Haitian immigrants a week under a harsh new policy widely criticized by civil organizations.

The trial against Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking, has been postponed until June 2, 2025.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been granted supervised release after being arrested and charged for illegally carrying a gun in his vehicle during an altercation in a parking lot in the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic says it has deported or repatriated nearly 11,000 Haitians in the past week.

The Dominican Republic says it will start massive deportations of Haitians living illegally in the country and expel up to 10,000 of them a week.

The president of the Dominican Republic has warned that his administration would take “drastic measures” to protect the country if a U.N.-backed mission in neighboring Haiti targeting gang violence fails.

Activists in the Dominican Republic are protesting against a bill for a new criminal code that would retain a total abortion ban.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been formally charged by prosecutors in the Dominican Republic with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader is headed to a second term following general elections.

As soaring violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic will hold elections Sunday that have been defined by calls for more crackdowns on migrants and finishing a border wall dividing the countries.

Tampa Bay All-Star shortstop Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave through June 1 under an agreement between Major League Baseball and the players’ association while the investigation continues in an alleged relationship with a minor.

The U.S. military has flown in forces to beef up security at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and evacuate nonessential personnel.

Dutch music producer DJ Tiësto has withdrawn from performing at Sunday's Super Bowl due to an undisclosed family matter.

A judge has conditionally released U.S. rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine after he was arrested in the Dominican Republic last week on domestic violence charges.

U.S. health officials say 93 Americans have died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic since 2009.

Authorities in the Dominican Republic have arrested U.S. rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine on charges of domestic violence.

Wander Franco is facing a lesser charge after a judge in the Dominican Republic analyzed evidence that alleges the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her consent.

A judge in the Dominican Republic has ordered the conditional release of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco.

Dominican prosecutors have accused Wander Franco of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering following allegations that the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop had a relationship with a minor whose mother also faces the same charges.

In Latin America, only Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic maintain total abortion bans.

The Dominican Republic is one of four Latin American countries criminalizing abortion without exceptions.

Major League Baseball has canceled plans to play regular-season games in Paris in 2025 after failing to find a promoter, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

Fan reception was warm when a pair of Dominican Winter League teams met to start a three-game series at Citi Field.

The Dominican Republic is accusing Haiti of multiple border violations in the latest dispute involving their shared frontier on the island of Hispaniola.

President Joe Biden is trying to increase trade with Latin America.

Authorities say the Detroit Tigers complex in the Dominican Republic has been targeted in the latest robbery of a Major League Baseball facility in the country.

Authorities are seeking at least five people in an armed robbery of the St. Louis Cardinals complex in the Dominican Republic on Friday.

The Dominican Republic has partially reopened its border with Haiti to limited commercial activity nearly a month after shuttering the frontier amid an ongoing spat over construction of a canal targeting water from a shared river.

The Dominican Republic government says it will temporarily allow the trade of essential Dominican products, including food and medications, on the border with Haiti.

Haiti’s government is doubling down on the construction of a canal on Haitian soil that prompted the neighboring Dominican Republic last week to shutter land, air and sea borders that both countries share.

The president of the Dominican Republic is defending his decision to close air, sea and land traffic with neighboring Haiti in a dispute over construction of a canal targeting a river that runs through both countries.

The Dominican Republic’s president has announced he will close all borders with neighboring Haiti starting Friday in a dispute over a canal on the Haitian side that would divert water from a border river.

Luka Doncic and Slovenia are headed to the World Cup quarterfinals.

Three people have been arrested in the Dominican Republic as part of an ongoing investigation into a powerful explosion at a plastics company that killed at least 34 people earlier this month.

The Dominican Republic, Australia and Italy have advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup.

A system

The Dominican Republic is getting back on its feet after Tropical Storm Franklin struck the island nation, causing heavy flooding that killed at least two people and knocked out power and water to hundreds of thousands.

Tropical Storm Franklin is unleashing heavy floods and landslides in the Dominican Republic after making landfall in the country’s southern region.

The Dominican Republic has shut down much of the country as Tropical Storm Franklin takes aim at the island of Hispaniola that it shares with Haiti and threatens to unleash landslides and heavy floods.

A prosecutor in the Dominican Republic says the investigation into Tampa Bay Rays All-Star shortstop Wander Franco’s alleged relationship with a minor is being handled by a division specializing in minors and gender violence in the province of Peravia.

Ecuador’s Constitutional Court has ruled the opposition-dominated National Assembly can take up the question of whether to impeach President Guillermo Lasso over allegations of crimes against state security and corruption.

New York Mets fans began the year dreaming about a World Series closed out by Edwin Díaz.

New York Mets fans began the year dreaming about a World Series closed out by Edwin Díaz.

Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock, limits on shifts and larger bases will not be used during the World Baseball Classic.

The U.S. government says it will detain all imports of sugar and related products made in the Dominican Republic by the country's largest sugar producer amid allegations that it uses forced labor.

The Dominican Republic said it “profusely rejects” criticism of its crackdown on Haitian migrants from a growing number of countries and human rights agencies.

U.S. authorities say a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent and a suspected smuggler died during a shootout Thursday morning off the Puerto Rico coast.

Federal authorities say customs officers at New York’s Kennedy International Airport seized $450,000 worth of cocaine from a traveler who was smuggling the drugs in the wheels of her wheelchair.

Hurricane Fiona is blasting the Turks and Caicos Islands as a Category 3 storm after devastating Puerto Rico, where most people remain without electricity or running water.

Hurricane Fiona is dumping more rain on Puerto Rico.

Tropical Storm Fiona continues to pour heavy rains over portions of the Leeward Islands and is now impacting the Virgin Islands.

Authorities say at least five Haitian migrants have drowned and 68 others have been rescued after a suspected human smuggling boat dropped the group off in waters near an uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico.

Tributes are pouring in for actor Ray Liotta, who died at age 67 in the Dominican Republic.

Ray Liotta, the actor best known for playing mobster Henry Hill in “Goodfellas” and baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson in “Field of Dreams,” has died.

Haitians are fleeing in greater numbers to the neighboring Dominican Republic, where they step onto rickety wooden boats as they attempt to reach Puerto Rico — a trip in which 11 Haitian women drowned this week, with dozens of other migrants believed missing.

Private investigators hired by David Ortiz say a Dominican drug trafficker who was jealous of Ortiz and felt disrespected by him had Ortiz shot at a Dominican nightclub in 2019.

The National Hurricane Center said Fred has regained tropical storm status in the Gulf of Mexico as parts of the Caribbean are gearing up for impacts from Tropical Storm Grace.

The National Hurricane Center said Fred has regained tropical storm status in the Gulf of Mexico as parts of the Caribbean began seeing impacts from tropical depression Grace.

Remnants of Fred have entered the lower Gulf of Mexico amid forecasts it would regain tropical storm strength late in the weekend as it moves toward the northern U.S. Gulf Coast.

Forecasters say tropical depression Fred is slowly strengthening and could regain tropical storm status on Saturday.

Tropical depression Fred is heading for a drenching of Cuba and the Bahamas on a forecast track that would carry it toward South Florida as a tropical storm by Saturday.

Tropical Storm Fred has weakened to a tropical depression while sweeping over the Dominican Republic and dumping heavy rains that forecasters warn could cause dangerous flooding and mudslides there and in neighboring Haiti.

The National Hurricane Center named the disturbance tracking toward Florida as Fred.

Heavy rains are pelting the northern Caribbean as Tropical Storm Fred has formed just south of Puerto Rico following a quiet month of no named storms in the region.

Imagine Olympic swimming without the world’s top 100.

Kai Takuya drove in the tying run with a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt, Hayato Sakamoto followed with a game-ending, bases-loaded single and the Japanese rallied from three runs down in the ninth inning to beat the Dominican Republic 4-3 in the Olympic baseball opener.

Haiti’s interim government has asked the U.S. to deploy troops to protect key infrastructure as it tries to stabilize the country and prepare the way for elections in the aftermath of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Tropical Storm Elsa is battering the southern coasts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, downing trees and blowing off roofs as it speeds through the Caribbean, killing at least three people.

Hurricane Elsa raced toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic early Saturday where it threatened to unleash flooding and landslides before taking aim at Cuba and Florida.

Puerto Rico's Yadier Molina reacts after tagging out Venezuela's Ali Castillo during the first inning of a Caribbean Series baseball game at Teodoro Mariscal Stadium in Mazatlan, Mexico, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)ST. LOUIS – Yadier Molina enjoyed going through the process of free agency for the first time in more than two decades as a pro. But it was fun — fun to be part of the free-agent process," Molina said, “but in my mind, it was always St. Louis. Molina hit .262 with four home runs in 42 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, his last under a $60 million, three-year deal. But he's best known for his defense behind the dish, trailing only Ivan Rodriguez (13) and Johnny Bench (10) for the most Gold Gloves won by a catcher.

A girl wades towards her flooded home the day after the passing of Tropical Storm Laura in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. Laura battered the Dominican Republic and Haiti on it's way to the U.S. Gulf Coast, where forecaster fear it could become a major hurricane. Now forecasters are turning their attention the Gulf Coast, where up to 11 feet (3.4 meters) of sea water storm surge could inundate the coastline from High Island in Texas to Morgan City, Louisiana, the hurricane center said. Hurricane Rita then struck southwest Louisiana that Sept. 24 as a Category 3 storm. We might have dodged a bullet with Marco, and obviously some people along the Gulf Coast are not going to be as blessed as us.___Martin reported from Marietta, Georgia.

A girl wades towards her flooded home the day after the passing of Tropical Storm Laura in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. Laura battered the Dominican Republic and Haiti on it's way to the U.S. Gulf Coast, where forecaster fear it could become a major hurricane. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Two tropical storms advanced across the Caribbean on Saturday as potentially historic threats to the U.S. Gulf Coast, one dumping rain on Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola while the other swept into the gulf through the gap between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba. Tropical Storms Laura and Marco were both projected to approach Louisiana's coast at or close to hurricane force just two days apart in the next several days. The last time two tropical storms were in the Gulf together was in 1959, he said. But large uncertainties remained for that time span, and forecasts have varied greatly so far for the two storms. ___Associated Press writer Dánica Coto reported this story in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and AP writer Seth Borenstein reported from Kensington, Md.

Luis Abinader, presidential candidate of the opposition Modern Revolutionary Party, greets the crowd while he is surrounded by journalists at a voting center during the presidential elections, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sunday, July 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Tatiana Fernandez)SANTO DOMINGO With COVID-19 cases still surging, the Dominican Republic on Sunday held presidential elections that had already been delayed by the pandemic, and polls indicated that a businessman with no previous experience in government was the favorite. Former President Leonel Feernndez, who served three previous terms, was also on the ballot, along with three minor parties. It went ahead Sunday even though the Health Ministry on Saturday reported the highest daily count of new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 1,241. The campaign was notably low key, with none of the mass meetings and street caravans common in previous years.

Minnesota Twins slugger Miguel San told a Dominican Republic newspaper he's being blackmailed, having been accused of kidnapping and assault. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)SANTO DOMINGO Authorities in the Dominican Republic are opening an investigation into allegations Minnesota Twins slugger Miguel San participated in the kidnapping and assault of a man, prosecutors said Thursday. The Twins, however, said they were told San was cleared of the accusations. Faced with a failure to reconcile, the Dominican justice system will open an investigation into the case, according to the prosecutor's office. They are what the ones who know, I dont know about this, San told The Associated Press when asked about what awaits him in the case.

These attendance-driven leagues might not play again at all in 2020, putting some teams in danger of surviving at all and potentially changing the landscape of minor league sports in the future. The White Sox are even providing those stipends to 25 minor league players recently released. MLB suspended spring training and postponed the start of the minor league season in March due to the novel coronavirus, leaving low-paid minor league players in lurch. The league launched a policy March 19 that provided most non-40-man roster players signed to minor league deals with stipends through April 8, and it later extended the policy through May 31. MLB and the players' association are negotiating terms to start the major league season later in the summer, but it seems likely there will not be a minor league season.