【AZ】 Earthquake in Mexico proves deadly, Judge tosses conviction of Adnan Syed, and more trending news | National – Arizona News

An American contractor held hostage in Afghanistan for more than two years by the Taliban has been released. The White House and family members said Monday his release came in an exchange for a convicted Taliban drug lord jailed in the United States. Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran who spent more than a decade in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor, was abducted in January 2020 and is believed to have been held since then by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network. Negotiations for his release centered on a deal that also included the release of Bashir Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban.

Britain and the world said farewell to Queen Elizabeth II with pomp and pageantry. Crowds massed in the streets of London and at Windsor Castle to honor a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an era. The first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s drew world leaders and other royalty. Before the service, a bell tolled 96 times for each year of Elizabeth’s life. Royal Navy sailors pulled a gun carriage carrying her flag-draped coffin to Westminster Abbey before pallbearers carried it inside. Atop the coffin was a handwritten note from King Charles III. After a committal service at a chapel in Windsor Castle, the coffin was lowered into the royal vault.

President Joe Biden says the discovery of top-secret documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate raised concerns that sensitive data was compromised and calls it “irresponsible.” In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Biden says he has not asked for any specifics “because I don’t want to get myself in the middle of whether or not the Justice Department should move or not move on certain actions they could take.” The FBI served a court-authorized search warrant at Trump’s Florida home on Aug. 8. Agents took about 11,000 documents, including roughly 100 with classification markings found in a storage room and an office.

China has criticized President Joe Biden’s statement that American forces would defend Taiwan if Beijing tries to invade as a violation of U.S. commitments about the self-ruled island. Beijing gave no indication of possible retaliation. Biden said “yes” when asked during an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS News’s “60 Minutes” program whether U.S. forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. The comment added to displays of official American support for the island democracy in the face of growing shows of force by the mainland’s ruling Communist Party, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory. China’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. remarks violate Washington’s commitment not to support formal independence for Taiwan, a step Beijing has said would lead to war.