Midday Roundup: Haiti marks quake anniversary amid political turmoil

Still shaky. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the southern part of Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. About 150,000 people died in the quake, which left 3 million homeless, according to rough estimates. Much of the outside world is looking in on Haiti, scratching its head and wondering why things aren’t better there after it received more than $10 billion in assistance for recovery after the quake. In answer, the Haitian Parliament could dissolve today amid a political crisis over delayed elections. With senators’ and representatives’ terms ending at midnight, power in Haiti would be concentrated with President Michel Martelly. News outlets reported Martelly and some opposition parties reached a deal last night on elections, but a key opposition group rejected the agreement. Many in the country blame Martelly for the impasse, and protesters have been gathering in downtown Port-Au-Prince to call for his resignation.

Freedom for a few. Cuba is holding up its end of the bargain to improve relations with the United States by releasing political prisoners. The U.S. government confirmed Cuba has released 53 people who were imprisoned for their political views. Last month, Cuba freed an American aid worker and a spy who was working for the United States, and the U.S. government released several Cuban intelligence agents. The deal has drawn criticism from some, including Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for benefitting Cuba without requiring enough changes to its dictatorial regime.

Back to work. Ebola survivor Rick Sacra plans to return to the country where he contracted the deadly virus for another medical mission this week. Sacra, a family physician from Holden, Mass., was working at a hospital run by the missionary group SIM in Monrovia, Liberia, when he contracted the Ebola virus in late August. He was evacuated to the United States and treated at The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Now that he has made a full recovery, he plans to return to the ELWA hospital for a one-month stint to provide general medical care. He will not be treating Ebola patients.

Rough landing. The SpaceX Dragon ship has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver supplies. This mission, which launched Saturday, was the private company’s fifth trip to the ISS, but its first attempt to land the rocket that helped launch the craft, so it can be reused. The rocket did touch down on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, but it landed too hard, the company said. Both the ship and the capsule that flew to the ISS were unmanned.

Surfaced. Divers have recovered a black box from AirAsia Flight 8501, which crashed into the Java Sea on Dec. 28, killing 168 people. The black box was not in the tail section of the plane that crews lifted to the surface Saturday, but at the bottom of the ocean. The device contains the flight data recorder that should give clues about the cause of the crash. Another one containing the cockpit voice recorder has been found and is being retrieved.

Glittering gala. The Golden Globe awards on Sunday night honored two directors with their first wins in best motion picture categories. Richard Linklater’s Boyhood won best drama, and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel won best musical or comedy. The independent film Boyhood captures the story of a young man’s coming-of-age in a unique way—it used the same actors and filmed over the course of 12 years. Grand Budapest’s win in the comedy category surprised many. Director Wes Anderson is known for his eccentric comedies that feature moody characters and melancholy themes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.