Report: At least 138 sent from US to El Salvador were killed

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least 138 people deported to El Salvador from the U.S. in recent years were subsequently killed, Human Rights Watch says in a new report that comes as the Trump administration makes it harder for Central Americans to seek refuge here.

A majority of the deaths documented by Human Rights Watch in the report being released Wednesday occurred less than a year after the deportees returned to El Salvador, and some within days. The organization also confirmed at least 70 cases of sexual assault or other violence following their arrival in the country.

Pope defrocks founder of another Latin America-based order

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Another founder of a Catholic religious movement has been defrocked for sexual misconduct and abusing his power, the latest in a string of purportedly orthodox, charismatic priests who turned out to be predators.

Pope Francis defrocked the Argentine priest, Roberto Juan Yannuzzi, after a four-year investigation determined he had sex with adults under his authority, absolved them of the sin during confession and otherwise abused his power.

Judge rules against women seeking admission to Yale frats

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed nearly all claims in a lawsuit that sought to force all-male fraternities at Yale University to admit women, saying both fraternities and sororities are specifically excluded from a federal law that bans discrimination based on gender in education.

U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden in Bridgeport issued the ruling Jan. 30 in the lawsuit filed last year by three women who attend Yale. They sued nine fraternities and Yale in response to alleged sexual assault, harassment and discrimination at the all-male social organizations.

Syrian troops capture key rebel town despite Turkish warning

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Syrian government troops captured a key opposition town in the northwest Wednesday despite threats by Turkey’s president to use force if they don’t pull back by the end of the month, an observer group and news network reported.

The town, Saraqeb, sits at the intersection of two major highways, one linking the Syrian capital of Damascus to the north and another connecting the country’ west and east.

Judge ejects suspect at opening of trial in subway killing

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A man charged with fatally stabbing a young woman on a California subway platform was thrown out of court Wednesday at the start of his murder trial.

John Lee Cowell ignored the judge’s admonishment not to speak and kept disputing whether he or the victim were first to arrive at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station, where surveillance cameras captured the attack in July 2018 that killed 18-year-old Nia Wilson and wounded her 26-year-old sister, Letifah Wilson.