VINCENT PONTARE

Italy will have to go through the playoffs once again in its bid to reach the World Cup.

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega holds a commanding lead in preliminary results from Sunday’s election against a field of little known challengers.

Back in May, the chances of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s reelection to a fourth consecutive term were looking good.

Writer and former Nicaraguan Vice President Sergio Ramírez says he will live in exile in Spain, after the government of President Daniel Ortega tried to arrest him and banned his latest book.

The David Prize, an annual $1 million award for select New York City residents, has announced its five winners for this year's awards.

LaMonte Wade Jr. singled home the winning run with one out in the ninth inning and the San Francisco Giants held their two-game lead in the NL West by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4.

U.S. Border Patrol agents tied to images showing aggressive tactics on Haitian immigrants have been placed on administrative duties pending an investigation.

The National Book Foundation announced Friday that Karen Tei Yamashita has been awarded its medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, a $10,000 honor previously given to Toni Morrison, Robert Caro and Isabel Allende among others.

The Brazilian Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Luiz Fux has issued a sharp rebuttal to President Jair Bolsonaro, one day after the right-wing leader escalated his feud with the court by vowing to no longer abide by one of its justice’s rulings.

No racial or ethnic group dominates for people under age 18 in the newly released 2020 census figures.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has suffered a major defeat in Congress when Brazilian lawmakers rejected a proposal to require printed receipts at some electronic ballot boxes.

Brazil’s military has staged an unusual convoy of troops and armored vehicles through the capital.

Illinois is leading a handful of Democratic-run states in extending health insurance coverage to adult immigrants living in the country illegally, including seniors.

A teacher in one of the poorest communities in the Andes who has never held office is now Peru’s president-elect after officials in the South American country declared him the winner of a runoff election held last month.

A small private security company in Miami faces questions about its role in the assassination of Haiti's president.

Pressure is mounting on the man who claims to be Haiti’s leader in the aftermath of the president’s assassination.

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.

Brazil saw its highest unemployment and economic inequality in at least nine years in the first quarter of this year.

A Hispanic heritage group in Santa Fe is suing the mayor over the destruction of a U.S. veterans memorial by activists during a demonstration on Indigenous People’s Day.

A rural teacher-turned-political novice and the daughter of an imprisoned former president have traded the lead in a tight race for Peru's presidency.

Peruvian voters faced a choice between two polarizing populist candidates during Sunday's presidential runoff.

The New England Patriots’ team plane has delivered 500,000 Chinese-made COVID vaccines to El Salvador.

A former Brazilian health minister has denied receiving any direct orders from President Jair Bolsonaro during his 10 months in the post, providing Senate testimony analysts see as an attempt to shield the country’s leader from any blame over the government’s pandemic response.

Harold Castro hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning off Craig Kimbrel to give the Detroit Tigers a 9-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Shane Bieber pitched out of some early trouble before extending his strikeout record and César Hernández hit a two-run homer, sending the Cleveland Indians to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Clayton Kershaw lasted one inning in the shortest start of his stellar career in the opener, Trevor Bauer didn’t get through the fifth in the nightcap, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 to sweep a split doubleheader.

In state legislatures across the country, lawmakers of color are seizing on the nation’s reckoning with racial injustice.

As schools across Peru closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pedro Castillo tried to find a way to keep classes going for his 20 fifth- and sixth-grade students.

Willson Contreras struck back after getting plunked again by the Brewers, hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Chicago Cubs rallied past Milwaukee 3-2 on Tuesday night.

With the team facing a COVID-19 scare, Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday night after the right-hander indicated he wasn’t feeling well.

The overwhelming response offers a glimpse at how Brazilian women — particularly mothers — have been disproportionally sidelined by the crisis. Worldwide, as schools remain closed, many mothers juggle fewer work hours with homeschooling and household duties. Brazil is battling a brutal resurgence in COVID-19 cases, making it one of the hardest-hit countries in the world. But just a month after Sao Paulo hired the women in mid-February, the city closed its schools again on March 15. This is partly due to Brazilian women facing worse labor choices or requiring flexible hours to raise their children, particularly since public schools provide only half days of classes.

(AP Photo/Andre Penner)RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that former judge Sergio Moro was biased in the way he oversaw former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s corruption trial, providing vindication for the leftist leader who has long claimed political persecution. The decision further darkens the shadow over the reputation of Moro and the sweeping Car Wash corruption investigation he presided over for years. Leaked messages published by The Intercept Brasil in 2019 showed apparent collusion between Moro and Car Wash prosecutors during the process that ultimately jailed da Silva for corruption and money laundering. Da Silva is universally known as Lula in Brazil. The justices didn’t rule whether evidence gathered previously could be used when retrying da Silva’s other conviction, or in his other two unresolved criminal cases.

The long-running crime series returns to the Fox broadcasting network on Monday with Elizabeth Vargas as host. After each show, Grace's Americas Most Wanted Overtime' will include discussion of the case on Fox Nation. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)NEW YORK – Veteran news anchor Nancy Grace will host a weekly program on Fox Nation tied to the return of “America's Most Wanted.”The long-running crime series starts a new season on the Fox broadcasting network next Monday, with Elizabeth Vargas as host. Immediately after each episode ends, Grace will discuss it on the Fox Nation streaming service on a new show, “America's Most Wanted Overtime.”Grace also hosts a SiriusXM series, “Crime Stories,” that is simulcast on Fox Nation. That arrangement will continue as part of a new multi-year contract she has signed with the streaming service, Fox News Media said.

Kathyn Dennet, center, and Brian Haver leave the IFC Center after viewing a screening on "Mank", Friday, March 5, 2021, in New York. Theaters in many other areas reopened last summer around the release of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” but that attempted comeback fizzled. “It’s a symbolic moment,” said Michael Barker, co-president of the New York-based Sony Pictures Classics, which on Friday released the Oscar contenders “The Father” and “The Truffle Hunters” in Manhattan theaters. Some of the city’s prominent theaters, including the Film Forum, the Alamo Drafthouse, the Metrograph and Regal Cinemas were targeting openings in the coming weeks. “We in the movie theater business live off of movies that play all around the country and all around the world.

A container of vaccines against COVID-19 produced by Oxford/AstraZeneca arrives from India at the International airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Marcelo Chello)RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil's government on Friday received 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from India, but experts warned the shipment will do little to shore up an insufficient supply in South America’s biggest nation. Fiocruz said in a statement Thursday the Health Ministry could begin distribution of the imported AstraZeneca shots Saturday afternoon, following a quality control inspection. Butantan had planned to supply Brazil's Health Ministry with 46 million doses by April. Fiocruz had initially scheduled the delivery of 100 million doses to begin in February and 110 million more in the second half of the year.

“We are optimistic that things at the Census Bureau will be better. The Biden administration also has pledged to give the Census Bureau the time it needs to process the data. He will report to Biden's new pick to head the Commerce Department — which oversees the Census Bureau — Rhode Island Gov. Former Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said he’s optimistic the final product will be as accurate as past censuses, especially now that Jarmin is at the helm. “The Census Bureau faced a number of challenges with the 2020 Census,” Schatz said in a letter.

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2015 file photo, the skeletons of sacrificed Spaniards are displyed inside a glass case at the museum of the Zultepec-Tecoaque archeological site in Tlaxcala state, Mexico. “Women and children who were sheltering inside rooms were mutilated, as evidenced by the discovery of hacked bones on the floors. The heads of the captive Spanish women were strung up on skull racks alongside those of men. Little by little, the town sacrificed and apparently ate the horses, men and women. But pigs brought by the Spaniards for food were apparently viewed with such suspicion that they were killed whole and left uneaten.

(AP Photo/Edmar Barros)SAO PAULO – Doctors in the Amazon rainforest’s biggest city are having to choose which COVID-19 patients can breathe amid dwindling oxygen stocks and an effort to airlift some of the infected to other states. In a city considered to be the capital of the Amazon, every oxygen tank counts. Despairing patients in overloaded hospitals waited as oxygen arrived to save some, but came too late for others. “We are starting to remove patients with less serious (conditions) to reduce the impact.”Hospitals in Manaus have admitted few new COVID-19 patients, suggesting many will suffer from the disease at home, and some may die. Governors and mayors throughout the country offered help amid a flood of social media videos in which distraught relatives of COVID-19 patients in Manaus begged for people to buy them oxygen.

Resurgent COVID-19 has lifted Brazil’s death rate to its highest in three months, despite the president’s insistence the pandemic is petering out. During the 2018 presidential campaign, Bolsonaro’s broadsides against the political establishment and intellectual elite resonated with disaffected voters, including many moderates. Unlike Trump, Bolsonaro does not have a powerful party standing behind him. But any signs of conciliation seem to be overshadowed by Bolsonaro’s hardline stands against pandemic restrictions on gatherings and his skepticism over vaccines. This is something that is deeply embedded in his political DNA: to polarize, divide and not govern,” Stuenkel said.

Sao Paulo Gov. João Doria announced plans to start distributing shots on Jan. 25 if federal health authorities approve the vaccine. The government also expects an additional 42 million doses from the global vaccine partnership known as COVAX, with no set date, and has signed a memorandum with Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, for 38 million doses of its single-shot vaccine when it becomes available. “Brazil is getting a mix of bad faith and incompetence on the vaccine issue," Ferreira said as he walked through the Sao Paulo international airport. "There are serious administrations around the world giving out the shots, but this isn’t our case.”_____Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.

Peru's new interim President Francisco Sagasti waves to the crowd after he was designated by Congress to lead the nation, in Lima, Peru, Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. Congress chose Sagasti to become the nation's third president in the span of a week after Congress ousted Martin Vizcarra and the following protests forced his successor Manuel Merino to resign. People waved the nation's red-and-white flag and blared horns outside the gates of Congress as Francisco Sagasti of the centrist Purple Party was selected the legislature's new president. Shortly after the vote, he took an oath to become Congress' president. In his speech before Congress, Sagasti recognized the deep wounds the legislature must work to repair before the election.

Supporters of Brazilian President Bolsonaro burn protective masks while rallying in favor of Bolsonaro's position that no one will be forced to use them and get an eventual coronavirus vaccine, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. People assembled in downtown Sao Paulo calling for the removal of Sao Paulo state Gov. A PoderData poll said this week the percentage of Brazilians who say they would take a coronavirus vaccine dropped to 63% in October from 85% four months earlier. The president quickly responded that he would not allow the import of vaccines from China. While the spread of the virus has begun slowing, public health experts warn people not to let their guard down.

A woman sits next to a statue of a sea lion on the waterfront during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)MAR DEL PLATA – Hundreds of Argentine flags dotted the sand of a beach at the Mar del Plata resort, a poignant memorial to the victims of the novel coronavirus in one of this South American country’s new virus hotspots. “Today, from a health standpoint, Mar del Plata is in a very serious problem,” said Argentine Cabinet chief Santiago Cafiero. Martin said the pandemic initially felt far away when it attacked Buenos Aires, but this feeling disappeared in August. “Nobody does this to be dishonest or clever or to hurt other people,” said Nicolás Parato, secretary of the Mar del Plata resort chamber.

RIO DE JANEIRO – Many people in Brazil are struggling to cope with less pandemic aid from the government and jumping food prices, with millions expected to slip back into poverty. “For a family that receives aid of 300 reais, how can we take care of our 5 kids with this? Meanwhile, rising food prices have also been hurting the poor. Food prices have increased 7.3% during 2020, with some staples like rice, milk and tomatoes jumping 41%, 30% and 26%, respectively. There’s also been heightened domestic demand due to the government’s COVID-19 aid program.

The area enjoys year-round sunshine and, according to the farmers, produces grapes with high sugar content and low acidity, the key combination for a good pisco. Pisco has been immersed for years in a fierce dispute between Peru and Chile over its origin. Pisco producers, who have their stocks in storage, hope to sell them when social events are reactivated. It’s a difficult situation because pisco is not a staple product but is linked to leisure and celebration, Zacnich said. La Caravedo is producing ready-to-serve, pre-mixed drinks in six varieties that also include the well-known Pisco Sour - a local cocktail of pisco and lemon juice.

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)CHICAGO – The Miami Marlins just kept fighting. Corey Dickerson hit a three-run homer off a fading Hendricks in the seventh inning, and Miami beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Wednesday in Game 1 of their NL wild-card series. The Marlins, who rallied past the Cubs in a memorable NLCS that year, have never lost a playoff series. Yu Darvish starts for the Central champion Cubs, and rookie right-hander Sixto Sánchez get the ball for upstart Miami. “It’s going to be great.”Darvish is making his first playoff appearance since signing with Chicago before the 2018 season.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda of Japan throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)MINNEAPOLIS Kenta Maeda lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning for the Minnesota Twins, who blew a three-run lead but came back to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings. Maeda's no-hit bid was ended by Eric Sogard's soft single that soared just over the glove of a leaping Polanco at shortstop. Maeda retired 21 straight batters in a stretch from the first to the eighth innings and finished with 12 strikeouts. Opponents are 0 for 22 against Hader this season, with four walks and one hit by pitch 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)FULLERTON, Calif. Theres red tape running along the floor of the coronavirus unit at St. Judes Medical Center in Fullerton, California. The Associated Press spent several days in the coronavirus unit at St. Judes and followed four nurses and their families after their shifts were over. She started a new job at St. Judes in March, returning to a field very different from the one she had left before giving birth. Eleanor gave up her own part-time night nursing shifts at St. Judes so she could stay home with the kids. They felt safe with St. Judes preparations and plans, and the feared shortage of protective equipment hadn't hit Southern California.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)DENVER Charlie Blackmon raised his batting average to an amazing .500 with three more hits, including a key double during a six-run burst in the eighth inning that led the Colorado Rockies over the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-7 Tuesday night. Blackmon doubled off Kevin Ginkel (0-1) during the Rockies' big inning that made it 8-2. Gallen went seven innings and allowed two runs on seven hits, with seven strikeout and no walks. Kyle Freeland went seven innings for Colorado and allowed two runs on seven hits. UP NEXT Arizona RHP Luke Weaver (0-3, 12.19 ERA) returns to the mound seeking his first win of the season.

That's afforded Ambassador Todd Chapman broad leeway to push U.S. trade interests as well as seek cooperation on hot-button global concerns like Venezuela and China. Chapman, 58, needed little introduction when he arrived in the capital, Brasilia, four months ago amid the coronavirus pandemic. He also rushed to the defense of Bolsonaro's son chair of the lower house's foreign relations committee after the influential lawmaker promoted a Trump re-election video. As if to underscore the risks of becoming too close, Bolsonaro tested positive for coronavirus three days later, forcing Chapman to quarantine. Spektor says Bolsonaro, for all his mimicking of Trump's hostile rhetoric against China on the campaign trail, can ill afford to alienate Brazil's biggest trading partner.