Thousands in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state lack water and electricity as floodwaters inundate entire towns. Rescuers are rushing to evacuate people stranded by floodwaters across the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, where at least 90 people have been killed and more than 130 others are missing. The state capital of Porto Alegre has been virtually cut off by the flooding, with the airport and bus station closed and main roads blocked. Reporting from the city on Tuesday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Latin America editor Lucia...

The Jackson Ranch Church, a stop on the the Underground Railroad to Mexico, in San Juan, Texas. Photo: Courtesy of Roseann Bacha-Garza. A site along the U.S.-Mexico border where enslaved people passed while using the Underground Railroad into Mexico is getting important recognition from the U.S. National Park Service. Why it matters: Historians believe that between 4,000 to 10,000 enslaved Black people may have migrated south, yet there's been little documentation and mentions in history books about the Underground Railroad to Mexico. Zoom in: The NPS announced last month that...

Savannah Rep's latest production, 'Prisontown,' explores the toll of incarceration on local economies The Savannah Repertory Theater continues its tradition of delivering bold and unconventional plays to the Savannah stage. On Thursday, the theater's latest production invites audiences to delve deep into complex themes of justice and redemption when Lee Osorio's "Prisontown" makes its world premiere. "Prisontown" is a gripping exploration of a community shadowed by the impacts of its local prison industry.

A former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia and a National Security Council member pleaded guilty on Friday to secretly acting for decades as an agent of the government of the Republic of Cuba, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). A federal judge sentenced Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, of Miami, to 15 years in prison for working against the U.S. government for decades for communist Cuba in "clandestine intelligence-gathering missions." "Today’s plea and sentencing brings to an end more than four decades of betrayal and deceit by the defendant," said Assistant...

Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Toha said all ‘eyes’ are on Venezuela to act in the pursuit of justice. Chile has announced plans to seek the extradition of two Venezuelans it considers suspects in the grisly murder of a political dissident. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Toha called on her Venezuelan counterparts to be partners in her country’s pursuit of justice. “What happened in this crime is important for Chile,” she said. “We give it the highest gravity, but also it is important for Venezuela.” She said...

WASHINGTON – The federal government will distribute $18 million in grants to five agencies in San Antonio and Bexar County that are providing services to migrants seeking asylum. Among the agencies to receive funding include: The funding was announced Friday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Shelter and Services Program. A total of $300 million will be issued to agencies nationwide. The Shelter and Services Program is administered by FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and provides federal funding for non-federal entities to reimburse costs incurred for...