In May, a US court filing showed that US authorities had targeted Mr Hernandez in an investigation of
large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering, related to the drug-trafficking case against Mr
Hernandez’s brother. Tony Hernandez was arrested in Miami in November. A leader of the Cachiros gang
had testified during a 2017 trial in New York that Tony Hernandez took a bribe to help launder drug funds.
Reuters
Japan hit by 6.2-magnitude earthquake
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has hit off Fukushima in Japan. It was also felt in the capital Tokyo, some
250km (160 miles) away.
The epicentre of the earthquake, which struck at 7.23pm local time, was off the coast of Fukushima
prefecture and measured at a depth of 50km, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. There were no
immediate reports of damage, and no tsunami alert was issued. Public broadcaster NHK TV reported that
utility companies were checking on the nuclear reactors in the area.
It occurred in the same prefecture that was hit by a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake in 2011, which
triggered a tsunami and the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
North Korea releases Donald Trump stamps
North Korea has reportedly launched a range of stamps featuring Donald Trump. They celebrate the US
president’s spontaneous meeting with Kim Jong-un in June, according to NK News, a website based in the
US, and feature an image of the pair standing together in the demilitarized zone.
The range follows a series of stamps – apparently on sale in the capital Pyongyang – launched on 12 June to
commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 2018 summit in Singapore, Japanese news agency Kyodo
News reported.
The earlier stamps depict the first ever handshake between Mr Kim and Mr Trump there, their signing of a
joint agreement, and the full text of that statement. None of the stamps appear to feature Moon Jae-in, the
South Korean president who in June joined the two leaders in Panmunjom, the North Korean village just
north of the de facto border with the South.
California hospitals question 2030 earthquake standards
A southern Californian hospital has joined others in questioning state standards designed to keep hospitals
open after earthquakes – after its $72m (£60m) building designed to do just that had to close when pair of
earthquakes struck the region last month. When pipes burst in the new building at Ridgecrest Regional –
150 miles northeast of LA – they flooded a room of mechanical and electrical equipment, and water leaked
into operating rooms and lifts, requiring the building to be evacuated.
Officials argue that complying with rules set to come into effect in 2030 will be so expensive that hospitals
will have to close or limit the services they offer. And in the case of Ridgecrest Regional, the standards did
not help, said CEO Jim Suver.
Unions have hit back and are defending the standards, pointing out that hospitals have decades to comply.
“This thing has been on the books since 1974, and they have abdicated their responsibility ever since. The
more you delay, the more things cost,” said Stephanie Roberson, director of government relations for the
California Nurses Association. AP