WORLD IN BRIEF
Russian diplomats gone from U.S.
WASHINGTON — The State Department is confirming that the 35 Russian diplomats President Barack Obama ordered out of the country have departed the United States.
Obama expelled the diplomats, saying they were really spies, and ordered new sanctions on Russian spy agencies for alleged Russian hacking of political sites during the presidential election. Obama also shuttered two Russian compounds in Maryland and New York.
The State Department said Sunday that the 35 Russian diplomats, along with their family members, have left the United States.
Chicago year ends with 764 homicides
CHICAGO — One of the bloodiest years on record in Chicago ended with 762 homicides and more than 3,500 shooting incidents.
Police released crime statistics on Sunday that reveal rampant gun violence. Not only were nearly 300 more homicides and more than 1,000 more shooting incidents than there were in 2015, but the total number of homicides was the highest since 1997.
The statistics also show that the bulk of the homicides were in five of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods on the South and West sides, where violent street gangs are most active.
The police department has long lamented the flood of illegal guns into the city. Sunday’s statistics show that the 8,300 illegal guns recovered in 2016 represents a 20 per cent increase from the year before.
Navy busts large cocaine shipment
GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemalan authorities have seized more than 680 kilograms of cocaine from a boat off the coast of the Central American nation.
Police spokesman Jorge Aguilar said Sunday that the Guatemalan navy’s Pacific forces intercepted the vessel carrying 35 packages of the drug on New Year’s Eve.
Two Ecuadorean men and a Colombian were detained. The cocaine is believed to have originated in Ecuador.
Police say a total of 12,818 kilograms of cocaine was seized during 2016.
Live grenade found in home’s attic
TOLEDO, Ohio — A family cleaning out a home in the Toledo, Ohioarea home of a relative who recently died stumbled across a live hand grenade from the World War II era.
Authorities say such finds are becoming more common.
A police spokesman said the bomb squad retrieves old military munitions about once a month. But he said too often people who discover old grenades or a mortar shell will haul it to the police station.
Police say the best thing to do is call 911.
That’s what happened this past week when the grenade was found in the suburban Toledo home.