AP Americas Digest

TOP STORIES:

ARGENTINA-ELECTIONS

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Congressional primaries show President Cristina Fernandez’s party remains Argentina’s leading political force, but her opponents narrow the gap, especially in the all-important province of Buenos Aires. By Michael Warren. AP Photos.

KERRY-LATIN AMERICA

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip to Colombia and Brazil this week builds on efforts to deepen relations with Latin America, but he can expect a curt reception after reports that a U.S. spy program widely targeted data in emails and telephone calls across the region. By Deb Riechmann. AP Photos.

MEXICO-DRUG LORD

MEXICO CITY — The Obama administration says it’s working with Mexico to bring new charges against a drug lord who persuaded a court to overturn his 40-year sentence in the kidnap, torture and murder of a U.S. anti-drug agent. By Nedra Pickler and Michael Weissenstein.

AMERICAN DETAINED

SEATTLE — An American man detained in North Korea for the past nine months has been hospitalized after losing more than 50 pounds (22 kilograms), and the need to bring him home is becoming more urgent, his sister said. Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-old tour operator and Christian missionary, was arrested in November and accused of subversive activities against the authoritarian government. He was sentenced in May to 15 years hard labour, and in letters to his family in the Seattle area he described working in the fields weeding and planting beans and potatoes. By Gene Johnson.

AP Photos.

HOLDER-SENTENCING

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder is calling for major changes to the U.S. criminal justice system that would scale back the use of harsh prison sentences for certain drug-related crimes, divert people convicted of low-level offences to drug treatment and community service programs and expand a prison program to allow for release of some elderly, non-violent offenders. In remarks prepared for delivery Monday to the American Bar Association in San Francisco, Holder said he is mandating a change to Justice Department policy so that low-level, non-violent drug offenders with no ties to large-scale organizations, gangs or cartels won’t be charged with offences that impose mandatory minimum sentences. By Pete Yost.

AP Photos.

BURNED BODIES-MISSING CHILDREN

BOISE, Idaho — The horseback riders who encountered a missing California teen and her abductor said that “red flags” went up for them because the pair seemed out of place and ill-equipped for the wilderness of the western state of Idaho. Initially it was the lack of openness on the trail, a reluctance to engage in the polite exchange of banter or adventures like so many other recreationists Mark John has encountered during his various horseback excursions into Idaho’s rugged backcountry. By Todd Dvorak.

AP Photos.

HILLARY CLINTON-DISTRACTIONS

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton’s effort to carefully craft her post-Cabinet image has hit a few bumps. A sexting scandal in the New York City mayoral race and a federal investigation that’s roiling the Virginia governor’s race are recalling politically problematic chapters of her past. By Ken Thomas.

AP Photos.

BUSINESS:

GAMES-DISNEY INFINITY

GLENDALE, California — With cartoony posters plastering the walls and toy figures standing at attention on nearly every flat surface, a once ordinary conference room on Disney’s Glendale campus has been transformed into the colorful war room for “Disney Infinity,” the ambitious project from the company’s interactive division that combines real-life toy figures with virtual worlds. “This is like being in my bedroom,” says “Infinity” executive producer John Vignocchi while bouncing around the space, gleefully showing off concept art, prototypes and a mock-up of a store display. “This is really the most comfortable place where you could talk to me. It’s where every massive fight and every major decision concerning ‘Infinity’ has gone down.” By Derrik J. Lang.

AP Photos.

ENTERTAINMENT:

US-JACKSON-AEG-THIS-IS-IT-OR-NOT

LOS ANGELES — Nearly four years ago, audiences got their last look at Michael Jackson in the top-grossing concert film of all time, “This Is It.” Tens of millions worldwide saw a seemingly healthy and confident performer sing and glide across a rehearsal stage as he prepared for his ill-fated comeback tour. Now, those same sessions are being replayed for a new audience: jurors in a case filed by Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, claiming concert promoter AEG Live should be held liable for his untimely death in June 2009. By Anthony Mccartney.

AP Photos.

TEEN CHOICE AWARDS

Lea Michele made her first public appearance following the death of her co-star and real-life boyfriend Cory Monteith at the Teen Choice Awards. Monteith, who co-hosted the Teen Choice Awards in 2010, was found dead July 13 in Vancouver, British Columbia. An autopsy revealed the 31-year-old actor died of an overdose of heroin and alcohol. By Alicia Rancilio.

AP Photos.