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| Yanira Maldonado freed from Mexican jail - BBC News Posted: 31 May 2013 08:47 AM PDT
31 May 2013
Last updated at 11:45 ET
 Yanira Maldonado was returning from her aunt's funeral in Mexico
A US woman has been freed after spending a week in a Mexican jail fighting drug-smuggling charges. Yanira Maldonado, 42, left the jail near Nogales, Mexico and crossed into the US state of Arizona on Thursday. Mrs Maldonado had been returning to the US from a family funeral when nearly 12lb (5.4kg) of marijuana was found under her coach seat at a checkpoint. She denied the cannabis was hers, and the charges were dismissed when a court ruled prosecutors lacked evidence. Her husband said he was arrested first, but Mrs Maldonado pleaded to stay with him and officials arrested her instead. Mrs Maldonado subsequently gave a tearful jailhouse interview to a US television station, and at a press conference after her release, she thanked journalists for helping to expedite her case. Checkpoint searches"Many thanks to everyone, especially my God who let me go free, my family, my children, who with their help, I was able to survive this test," Mrs Maldonado said. But she pledged to return to Mexico: "It's not Mexico's fault. It's a few people who did this to me." According to local news station KPNX-TV in Phoenix, Mrs Maldonado's conditions in prison improved as her situation became more widely publicised. Mrs Maldonado and her husband Gary were reportedly seen in security footage boarding the coach in the Mexican city of Los Mochis, on their way home to Phoenix, Arizona. They carried blankets, a purse and bottles of water. The coach passed through at least two security checkpoints without a problem, but at a third checkpoint in Querobabi the passengers were ordered off the bus during the search. According to Gary Maldonado, a man sitting behind him ran away while the search was under way. |
| Democrat drops out, says goal was to oust Bachmann - San Francisco Chronicle Posted: 31 May 2013 08:47 AM PDT ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Democratic congressional candidate Jim Graves halted his campaign Friday to replace Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann just days after she ruled out a re-election run, saying his goal had been to oust Bachmann from office. In an email message to supporters, Graves, who narrowly lost to Bachmann last year, said he felt his primary goal of unseating Bachmann was complete even if she decided to step away voluntarily rather than face him in a rematch race. "We set out to defeat Rep. Bachmann, and that has been accomplished. You should feel incredibly proud," he wrote to his backers. "After all, it was the grassroots movement that you built that kept the pressure on and forced Rep. Bachmann from her seat in Congress." Bachmann made her own announcement in a Web video on Wednesday in which she tried to head off speculation that she was stepping down to avoid another tight race or because of various ethics investigations surrounding her. She hasn't spoken publicly about her decision since then. Graves, who founded a hotel chain, narrowly lost to Bachmann in 2012. He had previously announced he would challenge Bachmann again next year if the incumbent opted to try for a fifth term. Her district is the most heavily Republican in Minnesota. Without a polarizing figure like Bachmann opposite him on the ticket, political experts predicted that Graves would find the task of raising money and converting GOP-leaning voters to his side more difficult. Several Republicans are weighing a run. No other Democrats have emerged yet. Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey said no matter whom his party chooses, the seat looks safe for the GOP. "We have a really good chance for a Republican candidate to win that race in the general election in 2014, and apparently Jim Graves saw that as well. We agree with Jim Graves." Heading into the 2014 campaign, Minnesota Democrats enjoy a 5 to 3 advantage over Republicans in the House delegation. ___ Associated Press writer Patrick Condon contributed to this report. |
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