At least 94 dead after ferry filled with Iraqi revelers sinks; NEWS BRIEFING; Staff and news services; Mayor leads push for review in ‘Atlanta Child Murders’ cases ; ACLU sues FBI for records tied to 2017 black extremists report ; Trump orders colleges to back free speech or lose fund access ; Ex-Brazilian leader arrested in corruption probe ; EU leaders offer May more time for orderly Brexit

MOSUL, Iraq - A ferry overloaded with people celebrating the Kurdish new year and Mother's Day capsized Thursday in the Tigris River near Mosul, killing 94 people, including families, officials said.

Many of the dead were women and children who could be seen struggling to swim against a strong current, their heads bobbing in the water opposite restaurants and an amusement park where people had been celebrating minutes earlier.

Col. Hussam Khalil, head of the Civil Defense in Iraq's northern Nineveh province, said the accident occurred as scores of people were out in the tourist area, known as Ghabat, celebrating Nowruz, which marks the Kurdish new year and the arrival of spring.

The boat had been ferrying people to an island nearby.

Abdulrazzaq Falih, a rescuer with the river police of Mosul, said he pulled more than 20 bodies from the water.

"Children, women, and young, what can I tell you? It was a difficult situation," he said.

Mosul was devastated by the war against the Islamic State group, which occupied the city for three years. Iraqi forces drove the militants from Mosul in 2017, and residents are still struggling to rebuild.

The usually tame Tigris is running high this time of year, fed by snowmelt from mountains in Turkey.

Nowruz, or the Persian new year, dates back to 1700 B.C. and incorporates Zoroastrian traditions. It is celebrated across territories that once made up the ancient Persian empire. Thursday was also Mother's Day in much of the Middle East.

Mayor leads push for review in 'Atlanta Child Murders' cases

ATLANTA - Atlanta's mayor and police chief are leading a push to re-examine evidence from a string of homicides that terrorized the city's black community between 1979 and 1981.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Police Chief Erika Shields announced Thursday that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Fulton County District Attorney will review evidence in the "Atlanta Child Murders" cases to see if any of it can be tested further.

Wayne Williams was given two life sentences in 1982 for convictions in the deaths of two adults, thought to be among 29 black children and young adults - mostly boys - who were killed.

After Williams' conviction, police closed 22 of the cases, blaming them on Williams without formally charging him. Some other cases remain formally unresolved.

ACLU sues FBI for records tied to 2017 black extremists report

SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union sued the FBI on Thursday for records related to a divisive 2017 report that said black extremists were on the rise following the shooting deaths of several African-Americans.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for Northern California names the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice. The ACLU and its foundation were joined by the Center for Media Justice, based in Oakland, Calif., as plaintiffs.

The lawsuit stems from an intelligence assessment released by the FBI in 2017 that said "black identity extremists" were targeting law enforcement after police killings of black men. At the time, the agency said it doesn't target specific groups and noted the report was one of many.

Trump orders colleges to back free speech or lose fund access

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday requiring colleges to protect free speech on their campuses in order to tap into more than $35 billion a year in research and educational grants.

The order directs federal agencies to ensure that any college or university receiving research grants agrees to promote free speech and to follow federal rules guiding free expression. The order follows complaints from conservatives who say their voices have been stifled on campuses.

For public universities, that means vowing to uphold the First Amendment, which they're required to do. Private universities, which have more flexibility in limiting speech, will be required to commit to their own institutional rules.

Ex-Brazilian leader arrested in corruption probe

RIO DE JANEIRO - Former Brazilian President Michel Temer was arrested Thursday on corruption charges, a dramatic development in a graft probe that has roiled Latin America's largest nation.

Judge Marcelo Breitas issued an arrest order for the ex-president as well as former Cabinet minister and Temer ally Moreira Franco and eight others.

According to the prosecutors, construction company Engevix paid Temer bribes in exchange for a contract to build a nuclear power plant in the city of Angra dos Reis in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro state.

Prosecutors said one Engevix executive said in plea bargain testimony that he paid more than $300,000 in 2014 to a company owned by a close Temer associate, Col. Joao Baptista Lima Filho. An arrest warrant was also issued for Lima Filho.

EU leaders offer May more time for orderly Brexit

BRUSSELS - Worn down by three years of indecision in London, European Union leaders on Thursday grudgingly offered the United Kingdom more time to ease itself out of the bloc, delaying by several weeks - but not eliminating - the threat of a chaotic British exit.

After a meeting, the bloc said Britain could postpone its departure, due March 29, until May 22 - if the U.K. Parliament approves Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal with the bloc next week. If the twice-rejected deal is thrown out again, the EU says Britain has until April 12 to "indicate a way forward."

May agreed to the plan, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

Worry about a chaotic departure is rising among EU leaders. But May said she "will make every effort" to ensure Brexit happens with a deal in place.

Prison pregnancies: A new study has found that about 4 percent of women incarcerated in state prisons were pregnant when they were jailed.

The number of women behind bars has risen dramatically over the past decades. But there had been a lack of data on women's health behind bars.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researcher Dr. Carolyn Sufrin collected data from 22 state prison systems and the federal prison system over a yearlong period. Her research found there were 1,396 pregnant women incarcerated. The researchers reported 753 live births, 46 miscarriages, 11 abortions and three newborn deaths. No women died during childbirth.

Caption: Carnival-like atmosphere: Ultra-Orthodox Jews wear costumes Thursday during the Jewish festival of Purim in Bnei Brak, Israel. The Jewish holiday of Purim commemorates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther.

Oded Balilty/AP