Mexican authorities hand over body of ‘El Mencho’ to his family

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities returned the body ofNemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," to his family after he was killed by the Mexican army last week, officials said on Saturday.

In a brief note on X, the Attorney General's Office said that it handed over the body of El Mencho after completing all the necessary procedural protocols.

"Genetic tests were carried out to confirm that there were indeed blood ties between the person who requested the release and the deceased," the organ said.

The killing of the country's most powerful drug lord was met with a wave of retaliatory violence in some 20 states. More than 70 people were killed.

Advertisement

The violence has fueled fears that the bloodshedcould hurt tourismahead of theFIFA World Cuplater this year.

The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. TheJalisco New Generation Cartel, which he ran, is one of the most powerful and fastest growing criminal organizations in Mexico and began operating around 2009.

In February 2025, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

The drug lord's death was the Mexican government's biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration in its efforts to crack down on the cartels.

byAdministrator

in

February 28, 2026

Mexican authorities hand over body of ‘El Mencho’ to his family

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities returned the body ofNemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," to...

Read More

Takeaways from AP's report on the ICE detention center holding children and parents

Many Americans were alarmed recently when immigration officers in Minneapolistook custody of a 5-year-old boyand sent him and his father to a Texas detention center. But he was no outlier.

US-Immigration-Detaining-Children

The government has been holdinghundreds of children and their parentsat the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, about 75 miles south of San Antonio. Some have been detained for months.

The Department of Homeland Security has strongly defended the quality of care and conditions there.

Here are key findings from an Associated Press report on how the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement is shaping life inside the facility.

Detention of children has been rising

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement booked more than 3,800 children into detention during the first nine months of the new Trump administration, according to an AP analysis of data from the University of California, Berkeley's Deportation Data Project.

On an average day, more than 220 children were being held, with most of those detained longer than 24 hours sent to Dilley. More than half of Dilley detainees during the early part of the Trump administration were children, the AP analysis found.

Sincebeing reopened last spring, the number of people detained at Dilley has risen sharply and reached more than 1,300 in late January, according to researchers. Nearly two-thirds of children detained by ICE in the early months of the Trump administration were eventually deported.

ICE holds many children longer than 20-day limit

The government is holding many childrenat Dilley well beyond the 20-day limitset by a longstanding court order.

Advertisement

"We've started to use 100 days as a benchmark because so many children are exceeding 20 days," said Leecia Welch, the chief legal director at Children's Rights, who visits Dilley regularly to ensure compliance. In a visit this month, Welch said she counted more than 30 children who had been held for over 100 days.

Many settled families among those currently detained

When the Obama administration opened Dilley in 2014, nearly all the families detained there had recently crossed the border from Mexico.

But many of those now sent to the facility have lived in the U.S. several years, according to lawyers and other observers, meaning children are being uprooted from the familiarity of schools, neighborhoods and many of the people who care for them.

Parents Allege Deficient Care

Parents and children recounted stressful conditions inside Dilley, including experiences that raise questions about the quality of care being provided.

A 13-year-old girl cut herself with a plastic knife after staff withheld prescribed antidepressants and denied her request to join her mother down the hall, the mother told the AP.

Another mother said when her 1-year-old daughter developed a high fever and vomited, medical staff repeatedly offered only acetaminophen and ibuprofen before she was eventually admitted to hospitals with bronchitis, pneumonia and stomach viruses. ICE disputed her account, saying the baby "immediately received proper care."

Other families described more routine problems, like the difficulty of getting children to sleep in quarters where lights are kept on all night and of stomach aches caused by foul drinking water.

Both adults and children described the often overwhelming stress of being detained that has caused many to despair.

ICE, DHS defend Dilley

DHS did not respond to detailed questions about Dilley submitted by the AP. But both DHS and ICE sharply refuted allegations of poor care and conditions in statements issued this week."The Dilley facility is a family residential center designed specifically to house family units in a safe, structured and appropriate environment," ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said in a statement.Dilley provides medical screenings and infant care packages as well as classrooms and recreational spaces, ICE said.Once in full operation, Dilley is expected to generate about $180 million in annual revenue for CoreCivic, the for-profit prison company that operates it under contract with ICE, according to the company's recent filing with securities regulators.In response to questions from the AP, a CoreCivic spokesman said no child at Dilley "has been denied medical treatment or experienced a delayed medical assessment." The company said detainees receive comprehensive care from medical and mental health professionals.Questions about oversightThe increased detention of families comes as the Trump administration has gutted an office responsible for oversight of conditions inside Dilley and other facilities.In years past,investigators found problems at Dilley, including consistently inadequate staffing and disregard for the trauma caused by the detention.A special committee recommended that family detention be discontinued except in rare cases, and the Biden administration began phasing it out in 2021. Dilley was closed in 2024. But in reopening it, the Trump administration has completely reversed course.

DHS did not respond to detailed questions about Dilley submitted by the AP. But both DHS and ICE sharply refuted allegations of poor care and conditions in statements issued this week.

"The Dilley facility is a family residential center designed specifically to house family units in a safe, structured and appropriate environment," ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said in a statement.

Dilley provides medical screenings and infant care packages as well as classrooms and recreational spaces, ICE said.

Once in full operation, Dilley is expected to generate about $180 million in annual revenue for CoreCivic, the for-profit prison company that operates it under contract with ICE, according to the company's recent filing with securities regulators.

In response to questions from the AP, a CoreCivic spokesman said no child at Dilley "has been denied medical treatment or experienced a delayed medical assessment." The company said detainees receive comprehensive care from medical and mental health professionals.

Questions about oversight

The increased detention of families comes as the Trump administration has gutted an office responsible for oversight of conditions inside Dilley and other facilities.

In years past,investigators found problems at Dilley, including consistently inadequate staffing and disregard for the trauma caused by the detention.

A special committee recommended that family detention be discontinued except in rare cases, and the Biden administration began phasing it out in 2021. Dilley was closed in 2024. But in reopening it, the Trump administration has completely reversed course.

byAdministrator

in

February 28, 2026

Takeaways from AP's report on the ICE detention center holding children and parents

Many Americans were alarmed recently when immigration officers in Minneapolistook custody of a 5-year-old boyand sent him...

Read More

How we got here: Months after Operation Midnight Hammer, the US strikes Iran again

Last summer, the United States struck several nuclear weapons facilities in Iran.

In the wake of the strikes, carried out by the highly advanced American B-2 bombers, President Donald Trump declared that the Iranian regime's nuclear capabilities had been "obliterated."

However, questions arose in the wake of the strikes about what was actually destroyed.

MORE: Iran live updates: Trump announces 'major combat operations'; could last for days

In the intervening months, the U.S. has tried to negotiate with the Iranian regime to reach a nuclear deal and Trump has repeatedly threatened the regime.

Recently, the administration began to float a potential strike, while maintaining that the nuclear program had been "obliterated," leaving the justification for doing so unclear. In his address after Saturday's strikes, Trump mentioned "imminent threats from the Iranian regime," missile and nuclear capabilities as well as regime change.

Iran has stated numerous times that it doesn't want nuclear weapons but believes it has the right to use nuclear power for civilian purpose.

A recent Defense Intelligence Agency memo suggested Iran was looking to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035, but Trump suggested missiles could be capable of reaching the U.S. "soon."

MORE: Trump starkly warns of potential US casualties in 'massive ongoing operation' to stop Iranian regime

Here's how the events have unfolded.

June 12, 2025:Israel launches a series of preemptive strikes against Iran, hitting military targets including the nuclear program. A dayslong conflict erupts.

June 22, 2025:U.S. launches Operation Midnight Hammer, with more than 100 planes, including seven B-2 stealth bombers, targeting three nuclear sites in Iran. In the wake of the strike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the country's nuclear ambitions were "obliterated."

Hegseth said at the time that the scope of the operation was "intentionally limited" to give the Iranians a chance to negotiate and the attack was not about "regime change." At the same time, Israel said that it struck "dozens of military sites" in Iran.

Trump floated the idea of regime change at the time writing on Truth Social - "It's not politically correct to use the term, "Regime Change," but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???"

Advertisement

December 2025-January 2026:Protests break out in Iran that become widespread. The protests turn deadly, with the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) saying that thousands were killed. Trump threated to hit the regime "hard" if protesters were killed.

MORE: US-Israeli operation against Iran was in the works for months, IDF says

Jan. 26, 2026:Trump tells Axios that Iran "wants to make a deal." "They were going to hang 837 people, and I told them, if you do it, you're going to pay a price like nobody's ever paid before. They pulled back. I appreciated that, but a lot of people have been killed. So, we'll see what happens. I can say this. They do want to make a deal," he said.

Jan. 28, 2026:Trump says on Truth Social that a "massive armada is heading to Iran" and "Hopefully Iran will quickly "Come to the Table" and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS." He further warned that "he next attack will be far worse" than Midnight Hammer.

Jan. 30:Trump says Iran wants to make a deal.

Feb. 3:A U.S. official confirms talks are tentatively scheduled to take place in Turkey.

Feb. 4:Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is ready for Iran talks but "they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles, that includes their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region, that includes a nuclear program, and that includes the treatment of their own people."

Feb. 6:U.S. and Iran engage in indirect talks in Oman. After the talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called them a "good start" according to state media.

Feb. 11:Vice President JD Vance says he wants a deal with Iran, but "if we can't cut that deal, then there's another option on the table." He said regime change was "up to the Iranian people."

Feb. 13:Trump says regime change is the "best thing that could happen." He urged Iran to make a deal. "I will say they wanted to talk, but so far, they do a lot of talking, and no action," he said.

MORE: 'Serious moment': Reactions pour in from Congress after Trump strikes Iran

Feb. 19:Trump gives Iran 15 days "maximum" to make a deal. "We're either going to get a deal or it's going to be unfortunate for them," he said.

Feb. 24:During the State of the Union speech, Trump issued a stark warning to the Iranian regime. "They've already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America," Trump said. Trump insisted that Iran would not agree to not pursue a nuclear weapon. He said "no nation should ever doubt America's resolve."

Feb. 26:The U.S. and Iran hold high stakes talks in Geneva. The administration said that it wanted a full stop to Iranian uranium enrichment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the regime posed a "threat" and "you can see them always trying to rebuild elements of" the nuclear program. Vance says there is "no chance" of a drawn out war.

Feb. 27:Trump says he is "not happy" with negotiations with Iran. "I'm not happy with the fact that they're not willing to give us what we have to have." But he said a final decision had not been made as to whether to strike. Earlier in the day, it was announced that Rubio would travel to Israel on Monday and Tuesday.

Feb. 28:The U.S. launches Operation Epic Fury, which Trump called "major combat operations" alongside Israel. Trump justified the attacks to "defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime." He also called on the Iranian people to rise up and depose the regime. Trump has not provided evidence of the threats posed by Iran and did not seek the approval of Congress.

byAdministrator

in

February 28, 2026

How we got here: Months after Operation Midnight Hammer, the US strikes Iran again

Last summer, the United States struck several nuclear weapons facilities in Iran. In the wake of the strikes, ...

Read More

Russia condemns US-Israel strikes on Iran as 'unprovoked act of armed aggression'

Russia on Saturday condemnedthe U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranas "a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state," demanding an immediate halt to the military campaign and a return to diplomacy.

In a statement posted to Telegram, the Foreign Ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of "hiding behind" concerns about Iran's nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change.

It warned the attacks risked triggering a "humanitarian, economic and possibly radiological catastrophe" in the region and accused the U.S. and Israel of "plunging the Middle East into an abyss of uncontrolled escalation."

Russia has emerged as a keytrade partner and supplier of weaponsand technologies for Iran, which has faced bruising international sanctions. Though Russia's Foreign Ministry was quick to condemn the U.S.-Israeli attacks, the Kremlin will likely carefully assess its response followinga recent warming of tiesbetween Moscow and Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine, and Moscow and Washington have discussed ways to revive their economic ties.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Russia's Foreign Ministry said. Araghchi briefed Lavrov on Iran's attempts to repel the attacks and said Iran would seek to convene an urgent U.N. Security Council session, it said. Lavrov reiterated Russia's condemnation of the U.S.-Israeli strikes and Moscow's readiness to help broker peace.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin discussed the situation in Iran with Russia's Security Council via videoconference, but did not give details.

In the Foreign Ministry statement, Moscow called the bombing of nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards "unacceptable" and said it stood ready to help broker a peaceful resolution, while placing full responsibility for the escalation on the United States and Israel.

Advertisement

"Responsibility for the negative consequences of this manmade crisis, including an unpredictable chain reaction and spiraling violence, lies entirely with them," the statement said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry also condemned what it called "the serial nature of destabilizing attacks carried out by the U.S. administration," accusing the U.S. of attacking "the international legal pillars of the world order."

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and militaryties with Iran.

Iranian forces and Russian sailors conducted annual drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean last week aimed at "upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact in January last year as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions.

The West alleges that in 2022,Russia and Iransigned a $1.7 billion deal for Shahed drones after Putin sent troops into Ukraine, and the U.S. also believes Iran hastransferred short-range ballistic missiles, but neither Moscow nor Tehran ever acknowledged the actions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced support for the strikes on Iran, calling it "an accomplice of Putin" for supplying Moscow with Shahed drones and the technology to produce them and other weapons during its four-year war against Ukraine.

Russia and Iran also pooled their efforts to shore up Bashar Assad's government during Syria's civil war, but failed to preventhis downfallafter a lightning offensive by the opposition. Assad and his family fled to Russia.

Some observers in Moscow argue that the focus on the confrontation between Israel and Iran could distract global attention from thewar in Ukraineand play into Russia's hands by potentially weakening Western support for Kyiv.

byAdministrator

in

February 28, 2026

Russia condemns US-Israel strikes on Iran as 'unprovoked act of armed aggression'

Russia on Saturday condemnedthe U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranas "a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression ...

Read More

Seattle game breaks U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey

A sold-out crowd of 17,335 fans at Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena broke the U.S. attendance record for a women's hockey game on Friday night.

In the first game back from the Olympic break for both PWHL teams, the host Seattle Torrent fell 5-2 to the Toronto Sceptres.

The Torrent played without captain Hilary Knight, who led the U.S. women's team to a gold medal in the Milan Cortina Olympics. She was placed on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury she suffered during the Games.

Advertisement

The previous record of 17,228 fans came on Jan. 18 when the Montreal Victoire faced the New York Sirens at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

The Torrent also broke their own attendance mark, set when 16,014 fans filled the Seattle arena for the expansion club's inaugural home opener on Nov. 28, 2025.

Overall attendance across the PWHL for the league's third season was up 17 percent through 61 games at the Milan Cortina Olympics break, according to the league.

--Field Level Media

byAdministrator

in

February 28, 2026

Seattle game breaks U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey

A sold-out crowd of 17,335 fans at Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena broke the U.S. attendance record for a women...

Read More

Sammy Hagar would work on new Van Halen tracks 'if I got the call'

AsAlex Van Halenworks on unreleased tracks created by his brother, the late guitarist Eddie Van Halen, one of the band's former front menSammy Hagarthinks there's a way the music can achieve the best of both worlds.

A guitar virtuoso who co-founded the band with his drumming brother and singer David Lee Roth,Eddie Van Halendied of cancer in 2020. Alex Van Halen first droppedsome unreleased music created with his brotherwiththe audiobook versionofhis memoir "Brothers,"released in October 2024.

More recently, Alex Van Halen has said there's enough unreleased material recorded while his brother was alive to create a final Van Halen album. Currently, he is working withSteve Lukather, co-founder of the band Toto and a friend of Eddie Van Halen, on helping finishing the album. Also a music producer and arranger,Lukather has saidhe is not playing on the tracks.

Katy Perry

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

These musicians who have never won a Grammy will surprise you

Protest music:Bad Bunny, Springsteen and the wait for a defining protest song

Eddie's son,Wolfgang Van Halen, supplied bass guitar,Alex Van Halen told American Songwriter recently. "The drums are already recorded. The drums, the guitar and the bass are already in there."

In arecent interviewwith the Brazilian YouTube channel and podcast Kazagastão, Alex Van Halen told host Gastão Moreira he had hoped to recruit as a vocalistPaul Rodgers, who previously served as the lead singer for several bands including Free and Bad Company, and Queen, when the band toured after Freddie Mercury's death. "But he can't do it any more," Van Halen said.

Advertisement

Hagar 'would love to write a song with Eddie again'

Sammy Hagar, who had two stints as Van Halen's lead vocalist – from 1985-1996 after Roth's departure, and again in 2004 – hasn't been contacted about the project, he told USA TODAY. "(Alex Van Halen) has the right to do anything he wants with his brother's stuff, but it's really a shame," he said. "I would love to write a song with Eddie again."

Hagar went so far as to say having him and Roth split the vocals – and have bassist Michael Anthony provide backing vocals – "would be a dream come true for Van Halen fans."

In his memoir, Alex Van Halen didn't cover the "Van Hagar" years of the band, after Roth left in 1985. "For me, the spirit of the band ended in 1984. We did good work after that, but the primary spiritual aspect, the magic, the potential, the looking to the future together, all of that stuff, our mutually strange backgrounds – that's what made Van Halen,"he told USA TODAY in 2024.

"I understand he's got some problems with me," Hagar says. "But whatever, you know, I'm busy. But if I got the call, I would drop just about everything, except for my live shows, to do the right thing for that. It would just be so exciting to work with Eddie again in any way."

Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him atmikegsnider&@mikegsnider.bsky.social&@mikesnider& msnider@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Sammy Hagar would work on new Van Halen tracks 'if I got the call'

byAdministrator

in

February 28, 2026

Sammy Hagar would work on new Van Halen tracks 'if I got the call'

AsAlex Van Halenworks on unreleased tracks created by his brother, the late guitarist Eddie Van Halen, one of the band...

Read More

Lil Jon's son's cause of death confirmed after body pulled from pond

The cause of death forLil Jon's son, Nathan Smith, has been revealed after the 27-year-old's body was recovered from a pond near his home in Georgia on Feb. 6.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's confirmed that Smith's cause of death was "drowning in the setting of psilocybin use,"PeopleandE! Newsreported, citing an autopsy report.

The autopsy also stated that Smith's blood had tested positive for "a pharmacologically active hallucinogenic compound of psilocybin — hallucinogenic mushrooms," according to E! News and People.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Fulton County Medical Examiner.

Smith, who went by the stage name DJ Young Slade, was found dead after running out of his home without his phone on Feb. 3 around 6 a.m, according toa missing persons report. The Milton Police Department in Milton, Georgia, said at the time that he "may be disoriented and in need of assistance."

After police confirmed his death on Feb. 6,Lil Jon shared a statementsaying he and Smith's mother, Nicole Smith, were "extremely heartbroken" and "devastated."

"Nathan was the kindest human being you would ever meet. He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate, and warmhearted."

"He loved his family and the friends in his life to the fullest. He was an amazingly talented young man; a music producer, an artist and engineer, and graduate of NYU," the statement continued. "We loved Nathan with all of our hearts and are incredibly proud of him. He was loved and appreciated, and in our last times together we're comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him."

Advertisement

Lil Jon and Nicole Smith married in 2004 and later separated in 2022. The rapper is also a father to daughter Nahara, whom he shares with girlfriend Jamila Sozahdah.

DJ Young Slade attends the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on Sept. 11, 2024, in Elmont, New York.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Lil Jon's son found dead at 27. Revisit his career as DJ Young Slade.

DJ Young Slade attends the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on Sept. 11, 2024, in Elmont, New York.

Who was DJ Young Slade?

Nathan Smith was a DJ and musician, just like his father, Lil Jon.

"Lade released this when he graduated from college. He was so happy to express his art n do it himself. I was so proud of him for doing it all on his own," Lil Jon wrote on Instagram promotinga song called "Move Thru Fire."

Under the stage name DJ Young Slade, Smith aimed to follow in his father's footsteps while also paving his own lane. In March 2025, he dropped anew single titled "Feels"that premiered on MTV.

"It's dope to appreciate my dad, show respect, and just look at all the things he's done, and it's nice to get the torch passed down and do my own thing," Smith toldThe Quintessential Gentlemanfollowing the release of the track in March. "Because it's like it comes from him, but also I'm definitely taking it and making it my own."

Lil Jon previously said his son started DJing at age 11 and graduated from the Scratch DJ Academy in Los Angeles at age 12, according toPeople. As a teenager, he DJed at various LA clubs before making his own music.

"It's literally in your kid's genes to do what you do," he said, per People. "It is in their genes. It is in their DNA. We pass everything we get and we learn down to our children. So he was destined to be in the music business and do music."

Contributing: Anika Reed and Anna Kaufman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Lil Jon's son Nathan Smith's cause of death confirmed

byAdministrator

in

February 28, 2026

Lil Jon's son's cause of death confirmed after body pulled from pond

The cause of death forLil Jon's son, Nathan Smith, has been revealed after the 27-year-old's body was recovered f...

Read More