By BEN FINLEY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The two Iowa National Guard members killed in a weekend attack that the U.S. military blamed on the Islamic State group in Syria were identified Monday.

The U.S. Army named them as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to fly at half-staff in their honor, saying that, “We are grateful for their service and deeply mourn their loss.”

The Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, has said a civilian working as a U.S. interpreter also was killed. Three other Guard members were wounded in the attack, the Iowa National Guard said Monday, with two of them in stable condition and the other in good condition.

The attack was a major test for the rapprochement between the United States and Syria since the ouster of autocratic leader Bashar Assad a year ago, coming as the U.S. military is expanding its cooperation with Syrian security forces. Hundreds of American troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.

The shooting Saturday in the Syrian desert near the historic city of Palmyra also wounded members of the country’s security forces and killed the gunman. The assailant had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard two months ago and recently was reassigned amid suspicions that he might be affiliated with IS, a Syrian official said.

The man stormed a meeting between U.S. and Syrian security officials who were having lunch together and opened fire after clashing with Syrian guards, Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba said Sunday.

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Al-Baba acknowledged that the incident was “a major security breach” but said that in the year since Assad’s fall, “there have been many more successes than failures” by security forces.

The Army said Monday that the incident is under investigation, but military officials have blamed the attack on an IS member.

President Donald Trump said over the weekend that “there will be very serious retaliation” for the attack and that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was “devastated by what happened,” stressing that Syria was fighting alongside U.S. troops.

Trump welcomed al-Sharaa, who led the lightning insurgency that toppled Assad’s rule, to the White House for a historic meeting last month.

Torres-Tovar and Howard were dedicated soldiers and “cherished members” of the Iowa National Guard family, Stephen Osborn, adjutant general, said in a statement.

“Our focus now is providing unwavering support to their families through this unimaginable time and ensuring the legacy of these two heroes is never forgotten,” Osborn said.

Howard remembered as first in, last out

Howard had wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy, according to Jeffrey Bunn, Howard’s stepfather and chief of the Meskwaki Nation Police Department in Tama, Iowa, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines. Howard “loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out,” Bunn wrote late Saturday in a post on the police department’s Facebook page.

Howard also was a loving husband and an “amazing man of faith,” Bunn said, adding that Howard’s younger brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa Guard, would escort “Nate” back to Iowa.

Howard was inspired by his grandfather’s service and wanted to serve for 20 years, according to an April post on a Facebook page dedicated to sharing stories of the unit. He had already served for over 11 years.

Howard “wants his battle buddies to know he’s always there,” the post said, “whether to help or simply listen.”

Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

What did Pro Football Focus think of how the Vikings performed on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium? Here’s a look at the player grades from the Vikings’ 34-26 win over the Dallas Cowboys:

Top 3 on offense (minimum 20 snaps)

J.J. McCarthy … 89.7

Jalen Nailor … 86.0

T.J. Hockenson … 82.4

Analysis: It was by far the highest grade McCarthy has garnered in his career so far. He was lights out after throwing an interception on his first pass of the game. It doesn’t appear that he got docked too much for that miscue after the ball got tipped at the line scrimmage. The body of work was stellar other than that as McCarthy was surgical while only missing a few layups that he’d like to have back. It makes sense that Nailor and Hockenson earned high grades because they were McCarthy’s favorite targets in the game.

Bottom 3 on offense (minimum 20 snaps)

Donovan Jackson … 46.2

Justin Skule … 57.6

Josh Oliver … 59.3

Analysis: It’s a little bit surprising to see a pair of offensive linemen near the bottom of the list considering that group up front did not allow a sack. There were clearly instances where the grading system felt Jackson and Skule got beat, even if it didn’t result in McCarthy being brought down for a sack. As for Oliver, he was much better as a pass catcher than a run blocker, which isn’t always the case with him.

Top 3 on defense (minimum 20 snaps)

Jonathan Greenard … 90.5

Fabian Moreau … 79.6

Eric Wilson … 78.7

Analysis: It was a dominant effort from Greenard rushing the passer as he was no match for whoever was tasked with blocking him. He finished with a sack in the game and could have had even more with how many pressures he generated. It was a solid showing from Moreau during his limited snaps in the slot. It was also a solid showing from Wilson as he continues to prove himself as a late bloomer.

Bottom 3 on defense (minimum 20 snaps)

Jonathan Allen … 27.6

Blake Cashman … 34.1

Andrew Van Ginkel … 53.0

Analysis: The fact that Allen and Cashman finished near the bottom of the list had most to do the defense being unable to stop the run for prolonged stretches. There were way too many chunk plays given up on the ground, and while that was an issue across the board, Allen and Cashman were deemed the biggest culprits in the struggles. That also cost Van Ginkel in the grading system.

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By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writer

Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process.

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IRobot, which became well known for its robotic vacuums, has struggled of late, dealing with increased competition, layoffs and a declining stock price. In 2022 Amazon announced that it had agreed to buy iRobot for about $1.7 billion, but that deal was called off last year. Amazon blamed “undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles” after the European Union signaled its objection to the transaction.

Amazon said at the time that it would pay iRobot a previously agreed termination fee of $94 million and iRobot said that it would undergo a restructuring to help stabilize the company.

iRobot said Sunday that it is now being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea, or Shenzhen PICEA Robotics Co., Ltd., is iRobot’s primary contract manufacturer.. With facilities in China and Vietnam, Picea has built and sold more than 20 million robotic vacuum cleaners.

“The transaction will strengthen our financial position and will help deliver continuity for our consumers, customers, and partners,” iRobot CEO Gary Cohen said in a statement.

iRobot said it will continue to operate as normal during the Chapter 11 process and doesn’t expect any disruption to its app functionality, customer programs, global partners, supply chain relationships, or ongoing product support.

The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.

In premarket trading, iRobot shares slid nearly 70% to $1.31.

Desde el 2020, según denuncias y reportes policiales en 14 estados, cientos de inmigrantes dicen haber sido víctimas de estafas relacionadas con los servicios de inmigración, perdiendo un monto total de al menos $800.000 dólares.

Formularios de inmigración. (ICE)

Cientos de miles de dólares han perdido los inmigrantes en los Estados Unidos por estafas en trámites migratorios realizados por notarios públicos y otros que dicen tener conexiones dentro de las agencias de migración del país, revela una investigación de South Side Weekly y Type Investigations.

Desde el 2020, según denuncias y reportes policiales en 14 estados, cientos de inmigrantes dicen haber sido víctimas de estafas relacionadas con los servicios de inmigración, perdiendo un monto total de al menos $800.000 dólares.

Muchas de las quejas vienen de negocios que se dedican a preparar impuestos o de los llamados notarios públicos, que se aprovechan de la gente que cree que quienes dirigen los servicios notariales son abogados —aunque no lo son—, y tergiversan los servicios que pueden ofrecer legalmente a los inmigrantes, y pasan a hablar sobre opciones de inmigración, cuando en realidad no tienen licencia para ofrecer asesoramiento legal.

Este tipo de fraude es bastante común, en parte porque mucha gente cree que los notarios en los Estados Unidos son abogados, como pasa en muchos países latinoamericanos, pero ese no es el caso.

En Nueva York, por ejemplo, los notarios públicos sólo pueden hacer cuatro cosas: autenticar documentos, traducir formularios, mecanografiar solicitudes y ayudar a reunir los documentos migratorios. 

Si bien los notarios son los más conocidos, no son los únicos culpables de las estafas. Hay otros que dicen que saben navegar el sistema migratorio y piden dinero. Envían recibos falsos y números de seguimiento que parecen del Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los Estados Unidos, para que las estafas parezcan más reales.  

Desde el 2015, solo en Illinois, decenas de personas han denunciado que las estafaron con casos de inmigración ante el fiscal general del estado, alegando , con pérdidas que llegan casi a los $200.000 dólares.

Así que para hablar de estas estafas en servicios migratorios, invitamos a Alma Campos, reportera principal y editora de proyectos para la cobertura de temas de inmigración para South Side Weekly, y coautora del reportaje con Max Blaisdell.

Más detalles en nuestra conversación a continuación.

Ciudad Sin Límites, el proyecto en español de City Limits, y El Diario de Nueva York se han unido para crear el pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” para hablar sobre latinos y política. Para no perderse ningún episodio de nuestro pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” síguenos en Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Pódcast y Stitcher. Todos los episodios están allí. ¡Suscríbete!

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