RIO DE JANEIRO – When Estefanie Ferraz went to prison, she had been living as a woman for around a decade, had undergone more than half a dozen plastic surgeries including breast and cheek implants to enhance her feminine looks, and was saving up for a sex change operation. But …

MEXICO CITY – Mexican authorities say they are working to clean sargassum seaweed from 112 miles (180 kilometers) of the country’s Caribbean coast and will try to prevent more from coming ashore. The Environment Department said Tuesday that the government is setting up air and sea monitoring of sargassum mats …

BEIJING – The nephew of lawyer-activist Chen Guangcheng has been released from prison after serving a three-year, three-month sentence widely seen as retribution for his uncle’s daring escape from house arrest. Chen said in an email from the United States that Chen Kegui had returned to his home in eastern …

For generations of Americans, the opportunity to go to college has served as the pathway to social mobility. Today, however, predatory for-profit colleges are giving students and taxpayers the shaft by trading on this American dream—and some prominent Republicans are defending these institutions. This year alone, the two largest for-profit …

BEIJING – The lawyer for imprisoned Chinese journalist Gao Yu says she is in poor health and was recently taken to a hospital for examination. Gao is serving a seven-year sentence on charges of leaking a document detailing the Communist Party leadership’s resolve to aggressively target civil society and press …

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A Puerto Rico senator filed a resolution Friday that would reassign $94 million to the island’s Government Development Bank so it can make a bond payment that the U.S. territory missed earlier this week. Sen. Gilberto Rodriguez said the money would come from a fund …

Never has being wrong felt so good, nor has a mistake been so worth celebrating. Chuck Schumer surprised me in all the best ways. His opposition to the terrible Iran nuke deal is breathtakingly bold and opens the door to actually defeating it. That would be one of the best …

BEIJING – Authorities say a landslide at a mining community in central China has buried several dormitories and some homes, trapping 40 people. The fire department in the mountainous county of Shanyang in Shaanxi province says 15 dormitories of the Wuzhou Mining Company were buried, along with three residential homes …

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minneapolis Fire Department reports that the ceiling of a concert venue has partially collapsed, injuring several people. The fire department tweeted that crews evacuated First Avenue, a downtown venue, and were checking the building late Wednesday night. The department says three to four people were injured. TV …

WASHINGTON – Four Army Ranger instructors and 40 of their students have returned to duty after lightning struck near them while they were carrying out military exercises in Florida, the Army said Thursday. The students and instructors were hurt early Wednesday evening at Eglin Air Force Base while conducting training …