AMERICAS NEWS AT 0500 GMT

TOP STORIES:

BRAZIL-COUNTERING THE COUP

RIO DE JANEIRO – Riot police use pepper spray and tear gas to chase protesters away from a celebration by retired soldiers marking the 1964 coup that established Brazil’s long military dictatorship. By Juliana Barbassa.

AP Photos.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH-CRUMP

ORLANDO – After Benjamin Crump got his first call from Trayvon Martin’s father last month, the attorney counselled patience for the grieving father.More than a month later, there still has not been an arrest in Martin’s death. But thanks to Crump’s efforts the case has grabbed international attention, merited comment from President Obama and stirred marches. By Mike Schneider.

AP Photos.

CHILDREN FOUND-BOAT

BOZEMAN, Montana – James Bryant refused to return his three children to their mother as he sailed with them and his wife to the Bahamas, living for months beyond the reach of child custody officials in the U.S, police said. But on Tuesday, the 44-year-old father and his children were spotted about 30 miles off the Florida coast, heading toward Bahamian waters. By Matt Volz and Matthew Brown.

AP Photos.

NKOREA-ROCKET LAUNCH

WASHINGTON – New satellite imagery appears to show preparations beginning for a long-range rocket launch in North Korea despite international objections. By Matthew Pennington.

AP Photo.

OBIT-HARRY CREWS

GAINESVILLE, Florida – Author Harry Crews, a hell-raiser and cult favourite whose hard and crazy times inspired his extreme, but comic tales of the rural South, has died in Florida. He was 76 and had suffered from neuropathy, says his ex-wife, Sally Ellis Crews.

VENEZUELA-CHAVEZ

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez has a double-digit lead over the opposition’s presidential candidate, but a quarter of Venezuelan voters haven’t committed to either candidate, a poll says. By Fabiola Sanchez.

AP Photos.

HONDURAS-PRISON RIOT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – At least 13 people die during an uprising by armed inmates at a Honduran prison, one of them decapitated and the others killed by a fire started by the rioters, authorities said. By Alberto Arce.

AP Photos.

HAITI-ROILED BY RUMORS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – One senator warned of a panic. Another said things were going to be hot. Neither gave any details in the radio interview, but within minutes, hundreds of shops closed, schools cancelled classes and seemingly everyone rushed home. Haiti’s grapevine can quickly add chaos to this already messy country. By Trenton Daniel.

AP Photos.

HAITI-PROTEST

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti – Fugitive rebel Guy Philippe makes a rare public appearance and urges Haitians to seize the streets if foreigners try to arrest the president he helped oust, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. By Wendell Bataille.

AP Photos.

CHILE-RIOTS

SANTIAGO, Chile – Bands of hooded youths clash with police in Chile’s capital during another round of riots on what has come to be known as the “day of the combatant.”

AP Photos.

BUSINESS:

APPLE-LABOR REPORT

NEW YORK – Chinese workers who often spend more than 60 hours per week assembling iPhones and iPads will have their overtime hours curbed and their pay increased after a labour auditor hired by Apple Inc. inspects their factories. By Peter Svensson.

ENTERTAINMENT:

FOOLING MUSEUMS-THE EXHIBIT

CINCINNATI – For nearly 30 years Mark A. Landis has fooled museums nationwide by giving them fake works attributed to Picasso, Jean Watteau and other artists. Now his work – some of which has already been displayed by unsuspecting museums – has been collected for its own exhibit. The Faux Real show will run Sunday – April Fools’ Day – through May 20 at the University of Cincinnati. By Lisa Cornwell.

AP photos.

FEATURES:

LUCHA LIBRE-IMMIGRATION

ALBUQUERQUE – RJ Brewer walks into the ring waving an Arizona flag while an overwhelmingly Latino crowd boos. The American pro-wrestler rails against Mexican beer, demands people speak English and points to the words painted on his trunks: SB1070 – Arizona’s strict immigration law. The self-described patriot also brags that his mother, Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer, is helping “save” America by pushing policies that limit immigration (though he’s not really her son). As more promotions of Lucha Libre, aka, Mexican-style wrestling, expands into U.S. and targets growing Mexican immigrant and Mexican American markets, they are beginning to adopt more political tones and tap into strong sentiments just as U.S. wrestling promoters did in the 1980s and 1990s on the subject of race and the Cold War. By Russel Contreras.

AP Photos.

CANADA-SEX CHANGE MISS UNIVERSE

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Beach shots depict her as every inch a curvaceous beauty queen. But 23-year-old Jenna Talackova was born male, and that has led the Miss Universe Canada organizers to disqualify her last week as a finalist in the 61st Miss Universe Canada pageant taking place in May. The rules of the contest run by the Donald Trump organization say entrants must be “naturally born” females. By Jeremy Hainsworth.

AP Photos.