The wife of a Mexican mayor whose police force turned 43 students over to a drug gang that allegedly killed them has been charged with organized crime and money laundering.

Maria de los Angeles Pineda is the wife of Jose Luis Abarca, the former mayor of Iguala, a city in southern Guerrero state. Pineda's brothers were leading members of the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, according to prosecutors. Federal prosecutor Tomas Zeron said Monday that Pineda has been charged with organized crime related to drug trafficking, and use of illicit funds.

Hollywood kicked off the New Year on a positive note, with three films vying closely for the weekend box-office title that nevertheless remained with "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" for the third straight week.

Peter Jackson's Middle-earth finale took in $21.9 million for Warner Bros. in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, narrowly edging out the Disney musical "Into the Woods" ($19.1 million) and Angelina Jolie's World War II survival tale "Unbroken" ($18.4 million) from Universal.

The first star-studded film-award ceremony of the new year was literally something to sing about.

While not an honoree himself, actor-producer Brad Pitt stole the spotlight with a sing-along for a few moments Saturday night at the annual black-tie gala for the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Mark Zuckerberg wants to add a little more "book" to Facebook.

The Facebook founder and CEO announced on his page recently that he has vowed to read a book every other week in 2015, with an emphasis on learning about different beliefs, cultures and technologies.

New York hip-hop artist Joey Bada$$ has been charged in an Australian court with assaulting a security guard before a performance last week, officials said Monday.

The 19-year-old Brooklyn performer was headed for the stage at the Falls Music and Arts Festival near the tourist town of Byron Bay in New South Wales state on Friday when he was asked by a 20-year-old security guard to prove his identity, police said in a statement.

An Arizona bobcat may have used up one of its nine lives after it survived getting stuck inside an oncoming car.

Arizona Game and Fish Department spokeswoman Lynda Lambert said that the bobcat appears to have escaped any serious injuries and is awaiting evaluation by a veterinarian at an animal sanctuary in Scottsdale.

Police near Salem, Oregon, say they arrested a naked man after he broke into two homes, drank booze and used a hot tub at one of them.

Officers received a 911 call early Sunday from a woman who was house-sitting in Keizer when she was awakened by noises coming from the laundry room.

Former U.S. Sen. Edward W. Brooke, a liberal Republican who became the first black in U.S. history to win popular election to the Senate, died Saturday. He was 95.

Brooke died of natural causes at his Florida home, said Ralph Neas, Brooke's former chief counsel. Brooke was surrounded by his family.

The father of the Jordanian pilot captured by the Islamic State group appealed Saturday to the militants to treat his son well and with respect.

The pilot, 1st Lt. Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, was taken captive on Dec. 24 after his F-16 fighter jet crashed near the extremists' de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria. The 26-year-old Jordanian is the first known foreign military pilot to fall into the militants' hands since the U.S.-led international coalition began its aerial campaign against the IS in September.

Federal regulators are expected to vote next month on rules to govern how Internet service providers deal with the flow of content on their high-speed networks.

The five-member Federal Communications Commission will consider then a proposal from Chairman Tom Wheeler on so-called net neutrality rules, agency spokeswoman Kim Hart said Friday. She was confirming reports in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal on the planned timing of the vote. Details of the draft proposal weren't disclosed.