WEATHER ALERT
One tropical system strengthens, another weakens; neither a threat to our weekend weather
Read full article: One tropical system strengthens, another weakens; neither a threat to our weekend weatherIn the Western Caribbean Sea, Invest AL95 continues to grow in strength as it gets closer to Central America.
Guatemalan police arrest 7 accused of trafficking the 53 migrants who asphyxiated in Texas in 2022
Read full article: Guatemalan police arrest 7 accused of trafficking the 53 migrants who asphyxiated in Texas in 2022Guatemalan police have arrested seven Guatemalans accused of having smuggled 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America who died of asphyxiation in 2022 in Texas after being abandoned in a tractor trailer in the scorching summer heat.
Tropical Storm Pilar dumps heavy rains on Central America leaving at least 2 dead
Read full article: Tropical Storm Pilar dumps heavy rains on Central America leaving at least 2 deadTropical Storm Pilar is lashing Central America with heavy rains that have already been blamed for two deaths in El Salvador as it meanders off the Pacific coast.
Tropical Storm Pilar leaves 2 dead in El Salvador as it wanders off Central America's Pacific coast
Read full article: Tropical Storm Pilar leaves 2 dead in El Salvador as it wanders off Central America's Pacific coastHeavy rain from Tropical Storm Pilar has already caused two deaths in El Salvador as it meanders off the Pacific coast.
Patrick Hamilton, ex-AP and Reuters photographer who covered Central American wars, dies at 74
Read full article: Patrick Hamilton, ex-AP and Reuters photographer who covered Central American wars, dies at 74Patrick Hamilton, a combat veteran of the Vietnam War who covered civil wars in Central America as a photojournalist for The Associated Press,and later worked at Reuters covering the first Gulf War in Iraq, has died after a long struggle with cancer.
Before Texas mass shooting, locals felt abandoned by police
Read full article: Before Texas mass shooting, locals felt abandoned by policeThe end of a manhunt in Texas for a gunman accused of killing five Honduran neighbors hasn't quieted anger in the rural community where the April 28 shooting took place.
DEA nationwide drug operation seizes over 540K fake fentanyl pills, more than 100 arrests in Florida
Read full article: DEA nationwide drug operation seizes over 540K fake fentanyl pills, more than 100 arrests in FloridaThe U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced Friday the results of a yearlong operation called “Operation Last Mile,” which targeted the distribution of drugs in America.
Presidents of Taiwan, Guatemala visit Mayan pyramid
Read full article: Presidents of Taiwan, Guatemala visit Mayan pyramidTaiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei have toured the archaeological site of Tikal during a trip by Tsai that aims to shore up the self-governing island’s ties with its remaining allies in Central America.
US releases Guantanamo prisoner once tortured at CIA sites
Read full article: US releases Guantanamo prisoner once tortured at CIA sitesA onetime al-Qaida courier has been released after serving more than 16 years at the Guantanamo Bay detention center and enduring torture at clandestine overseas CIA sites.
Pricey pants from 1857 go for $114k, raise Levi's questions
Read full article: Pricey pants from 1857 go for $114k, raise Levi's questionsPulled from a sunken trunk at an 1857 shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina, work pants that auction officials describe as the oldest known pair of jeans in the world have sold for $114,000.
Climate Questions: How much has the climate changed already?
Read full article: Climate Questions: How much has the climate changed already?From incrementally rising temperatures and seas to an influx of natural disasters, the climate right now certainly isn't the same as it was before the industrial era.
Julia becomes a Hurricane
Read full article: Julia becomes a HurricaneHurricane Julia reached 75 mph sustained winds while passing the San Andres and Providencia Islands and approaching the coast of Nicaragua. Hurricane Julia will not have an impact on Florida. For Floridians that have loved ones in Central America, the hurricane is projected to impact Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala through Monday. Life-threatening flash floods, mudslides, storm surge and rip-currents are likely.
Tropical Storm Colin brings rain to Carolinas, weakens
Read full article: Tropical Storm Colin brings rain to Carolinas, weakensTropical Storm Colin has brought rain and winds to parts of North and South Carolina, though the storm has weakened and conditions are expected to improve by Monday's July Fourth celebrations.
Caribbean storm likely to gain force, hit Central America
Read full article: Caribbean storm likely to gain force, hit Central AmericaThe U.S. National Hurricane Center says a storm that has hurled rain on the southern Caribbean and the northern shoulder of South America is expected to hit Central America as a tropical storm over the weekend and eventually develop into a hurricane over the Pacific.
Ex-Honduran leader placed on US list of corrupt officials
Read full article: Ex-Honduran leader placed on US list of corrupt officialsThe Biden administration last year quietly placed former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández on a classified list of officials suspected of corruption or undermining democracy in Central America.
Still building home-field advantage, US stumbles on road
Read full article: Still building home-field advantage, US stumbles on roadA 1-0 loss to Panama again highlighted the United States' disadvantage on the road in Central America and put pressure on the Americans to win at home against Costa Rica on Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio.
US gives 1st public look inside base housing Afghans
Read full article: US gives 1st public look inside base housing AfghansThe Biden administration is giving the first public look inside a U.S. military base housing Afghans airlifted out of Afghanistan, amid questions about how the government is caring for the refugees and vetting them.
Asylum seekers rush to register for US border processing
Read full article: Asylum seekers rush to register for US border processingAsylum seekers wait for news of policy changes at the border, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)MEXICO CITY – In the first five days since the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden began to process the thousands of asylum seekers waiting in Mexico, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees registered 12,000 people. Instituted by the Trump administration in January 2019, the program sought to discourage asylum seekers by making them wait in Mexico rather than releasing them with orders to appear for future court dates in the U.S. AdOn Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would begin processing asylum seekers with registered cases who have been living in a tent encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico. Last week, the U.S. government began processing a small number of asylum seekers with active cases in San Diego.
Birth on a riverbank: Woman's ordeal shows risks at border
Read full article: Birth on a riverbank: Woman's ordeal shows risks at borderMerín gave birth to her daughter next to the Rio Grande, attended to by two Border Patrol agents, showing how lives routinely end up at risk at the U.S.-Mexico border. Mother and child were hospitalized for three days, then processed at a Border Patrol station before being released to Catholic Charities. “There’s so many women in great danger,” said Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. The Border Patrol blames smugglers for using people in medical distress as decoys, drawing attention from others trying to sneak into the country. The Border Patrol defends how it treats immigrants and the medical care they receive.
Federal judge blocks new criminal disqualifiers to asylum
Read full article: Federal judge blocks new criminal disqualifiers to asylumA judge on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020 has blocked a Trump administration rule that would have put up new roadblocks for asylum-seekers convicted of a variety of crimes. The federal judge in San Francisco says current federal law already includes plenty of disqualifying crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering and counterfeiting. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio, File)LOS ANGELES – A federal judge on Thursday blocked a Trump administration rule about to take effect that would have put up new roadblocks for asylum-seekers convicted of a variety of crimes. The rule would have also denied asylum to people convicted of crimes that an adjudicator “knows or has reason to believe” was committed to supporting a criminal street gang. Asylum is for people fleeing persecution for their race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership in a social group.
Iota becomes Cat 5 hurricane as it nears Central America
Read full article: Iota becomes Cat 5 hurricane as it nears Central AmericaMANAGUA – Powerful Hurricane Iota made landfall on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast late Monday, threatening catastrophic damage to the same part of Central America already battered by equally strong Hurricane Eta less than two weeks ago. Iota already had been hitting the Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras with torrential rains and strong winds. Iota came ashore just 15 miles (25 kilometers) south of where Hurricane Eta made landfall Nov. 3, also as a Category 4 storm. It also sets the record for the latest Category 5 hurricane on record, beating the record set by the Nov. 8, 1932, Cuba Hurricane. Eta had hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, killing more than 130 people as torrential rains caused flash floods and mudslides in parts of Central America and Mexico.
Iota strengthens into hurricane; 13th of Atlantic season
Read full article: Iota strengthens into hurricane; 13th of Atlantic seasonResidents wade through a flooded road in the aftermath of Hurricane Eta in Planeta, Honduras, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Iota became the thirteenth hurricane of the Atlantic season early Sunday, threatening to bring another dangerous system to Nicaragua and Honduras — countries recently clobbered by a Category 4 Hurricane Eta. Iota was already a record-breaking system, being the 30th named storm of this year’s extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said early Sunday that Iota had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). Eta was the 28th named storm of this year’s hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms.
Tropical Storm Iota forms
Read full article: Tropical Storm Iota formsTropical depression 31 became Tropical Storm Iota Friday evening in the western Caribbean Sea on a path to the Nicaraguan coast. This is the 30th named storm in a record bustling hurricane season. In a normal Atlantic hurricane season, about 12 named storms form with six of them becoming hurricanes. The center of Tropical Storm Iota was located near latitude 13.8 North, longitude 74.3 West. Iota is moving toward the west-southwest near 3 mph (6 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through early Saturday.
Iota Dissipates Over Central America
Read full article: Iota Dissipates Over Central AmericaThe remnants are moving toward the west near 12 mph (19 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue today. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 mb (29.71 inches). Portions of Nicaragua and El Salvador: 2 to 4 inches (50 to 100 mm), with isolated maximum totals of 6 inches (150 mm). SURF: Swells generated by Iota will affect much of the coast of Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula during the next day or so.
British queen offers condolences to Eta storm victims
Read full article: British queen offers condolences to Eta storm victimsBritain's Queen Elizabeth II stands on the balcolny of the Foreign Office, during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London, Sunday Nov. 8, 2020. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II on Monday sent her condolences to people in Mexico and Central America affected by “the tragic loss of life and destruction” caused by the devastating storm Eta. In a message to leaders in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, the queen lamented the destruction caused by the storm. “Prince Philip and I were deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life,'' caused by the storm, the queen's message said. Official death tolls put the number of dead at least 68 people, but hundreds more are missing.
Eta soaks South Florida, weakens as it moves away from Keys
Read full article: Eta soaks South Florida, weakens as it moves away from KeysTropical Storm Eta caused severe flooding in South Florida in areas already saturated from previous downpours. The system made landfall in the Florida Keys and posed a serious threat across South Florida, which was already drenched from more than 14 inches of rain last month. The Hurricane Warning for the Florida Keys and Florida Bay have been replaced with a Tropical Storm Warning. The Tropical Storm Watch has been upgraded to a Tropical Storm Warning for the Florida west coast from Englewood to Anna Maria Island. On the forecast track, the center of Eta will gradually pull away from the Florida Keys and south Florida today and be over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico tonight through Wednesday.
Eta strikes Florida Keys; expected to become hurricane
Read full article: Eta strikes Florida Keys; expected to become hurricaneA strengthening Tropical Storm Eta cut across Cuba on Sunday, and forecasters say it's likely to be a hurricane before hitting the Florida Keys Sunday night or Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami declared hurricane and storm surge warnings for the Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay. Several shelters also opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas. On Sunday night, authorities in Lauderhill, Florida, responded to a report of a car that had driven into a canal. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low-lying areas.
Eta strengthens back to a Tropical Storm
Read full article: Eta strengthens back to a Tropical StormJACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tropical Storm Eta became a tropical storm again Saturday morning south of Cuba. Maximum sustained winds are now near 40 mph Eta is near the Cayman Islands with 35 mph winds. A tropical Storm Watch covers south Florida and up the east coast stopping at Volusia county. A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect along the Florida east coast north of Sebastien Inlet to the Brevard/Volusia county line. A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect for the Florida west coast north of Bonita Beach to Englewood.
Guatemala searches, Eta regains storm status, heads to Cuba
Read full article: Guatemala searches, Eta regains storm status, heads to CubaMembers of search and recovery teams search for survivors in the debris of a massive, rain-fueled landslide in the village of Queja, in Guatemala, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta. The storm was expected to hit Cuba by early Sunday, and approach the Florida Keys and south Florida late Sunday or Monday. Tropical storm warnings were issued for central Cuba, southern Florida and the Florida Keys. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas. The storms’ threat comes as many streets across South Florida have been inundated by heavy rains and unusual King Tides.
Guatemala digs through landslide where 100 believed buried
Read full article: Guatemala digs through landslide where 100 believed buriedA barefooted woman makes her way around debris brought on by a landslide on a road blocking traffic, in the aftermath of Hurricane Eta, in Purulha, northern Guatemala Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. In a news conference, President Alejandro Giammattei said he believed there were at least 100 dead there in San Cristobal Verapaz, but noted that was still unconfirmed. Her home in La Lima, a San Pedro Sula suburb, is 150 feet from the roiling Chamelecon river and only a short way from the international airport’s runway. It said rescues were happening Friday in San Pedro Sula and La Lima, but the need was great and resources limited. The U.S. State Department said in a statement Friday that four U.S. helicopters from the Soto Cano Air Base near Tegucigalpa had flown to San Pedro Sula to participate in rescue operations.
Umbrella days return as rains and winds slowly build into the weekend
Read full article: Umbrella days return as rains and winds slowly build into the weekendHigh pressure will be keeping Eta well down south in Central America and will not relax for at least the next 3 days. This high pressure is forcing Eta to move ashore, weaken. As the high pressure backs off, Eta will move back over the super warm waters of the Caribbean Sea. That will be, good and bad news for Cuba and possibly South Florida where heavy rains are expected. Temperatures will be pleasantly warm, starting off each day in the mid 60s to around 70° and each afternoon in the mid to upper 70s.
Eta rapidly strengthens into Category 4 hurricane
Read full article: Eta rapidly strengthens into Category 4 hurricaneEta is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. At 10:00 a.m. the center of Hurricane Eta was located near latitude 13.6 North, longitude 83.2 West. #Eta is the 3rd major #hurricane to form in the Atlantic since 1 October, along with Delta and Epsilon. This is the first time on record that the Atlantic has had 3 major hurricane formations (e.g., storm first reached major hurricane strength) in October-November. Tropical storm conditions are expected in the Tropical Storm Warning area tonight, and hurricane conditions are possible in the Hurricane Watch area by early Tuesday.
Cat 4 Hurricane Eta threatens flooding in Central America
Read full article: Cat 4 Hurricane Eta threatens flooding in Central AmericaMEXICO CITY – Hurricane Eta erupted quickly into a potentially catastrophic major hurricane Monday as it headed for Central America, where forecasters warned of massive flooding and landslides across a vulnerable region. Eta was a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 kph) late Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was centered about 45 miles (75 kilometers) east of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, and moving west-southwest at 7 mph (11 kph). Eta tripled in strength in about 24 hours, rapidly intensifying from a 40 mph (65 kph) storm Sunday morning to a 120 mph (190 kph) hurricane around midday Monday, and continued gain power throughout the rest of the day. Hurricane season still has a month to go, ending Nov. 30.
Tropical Storm Eta ties record; expected to become hurricane
Read full article: Tropical Storm Eta ties record; expected to become hurricaneJACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Rain-heavy Tropical Storm Eta strengthened on Sunday as it headed for a drenching collision with Central America. The system ties the record for the most named storms in an Atlantic hurricane season. The storm is forecast to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by Monday before making landfall near Honduras and Nicaragua as a hurricane. Eta is the 28th named Atlantic storm this season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. Hurricane season still has a month to go, ending Nov. 30.
Tropical Storm Eta ties record; expected to become hurricane
Read full article: Tropical Storm Eta ties record; expected to become hurricaneMIAMI – Rain-heavy Tropical Storm Eta grew rapidly to near hurricane strength Sunday while heading for a drenching collision with Central America, as this Atlantic hurricane system tied the record for the most named storms. Eta had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) late Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Forecasters expected Eta to become a hurricane during the night and it was predicted to be nearing the Nicaraguan coast early Tuesday. Eta is the 28th named Atlantic storm this season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. Hurricane season still has a month to go, ending Nov. 30.
Report: US knew of problems family separation would cause
Read full article: Report: US knew of problems family separation would causeDocuments in the report suggest Health and Human Services officials weren't told by the Department of Homeland Security why shelters were receiving more children taken from their parents in late 2017. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released the report Thursday with emails obtained from government agencies. The report outlines discussions since the start of the Trump administration of family separation as a law enforcement tactic. Documents in the new report suggest CBP did not communicate with HHS about why shelters were receiving more separated children. The email notes “the increase in referrals” of children unaccompanied by a parent “resulting from separation of children from parents.” White sent McAleenan a chart of all the children HHS had received.
Tropical Storm Iota forms, could follow Eta’s deadly path
Read full article: Tropical Storm Iota forms, could follow Eta’s deadly pathJACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tropical Storm Iota formed Friday afternoon in the Caribbean and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches Central America. Iota is the 30th named storm of this year’s record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season. The spaghetti models for this system vary widely in what direction the storm will head. What the forecast models do generally agree on is that this system will be on the weaker side. The forecast models should come to a better agreement now that the system has actually formed and as it starts moving forward.
Final debate could thrust foreign policy back into campaign
Read full article: Final debate could thrust foreign policy back into campaignBiden's foreign policy credentials have largely been overshadowed by questions about how he would lead the U.S. through the worst pandemic in a century. But the issue could reemerge Thursday as Trump and Biden take the stage for a final debate, with a topic list including national security. But, Biden said, the president still has “no coherent plan for foreign policy” beyond “America alone.”Trump counters that “America First” is more than sloganeering. Yet heading into the final debate, Trump's loudest foreign policy pitch isn't about his record. Once the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden hails from the bipartisan establishment that shaped U.S. international policy from World War II's end until Trump's election.
Tropical Storm Cristobal advances toward US Gulf Coast
Read full article: Tropical Storm Cristobal advances toward US Gulf CoastMIAMI A re-energized Tropical Storm Cristobal advanced toward the U.S. Gulf Coast early Saturday, bringing with it the heavy rains that already caused flooding and mudslides in Mexico and Central America. After weakening to a tropical depression while moving over land in Mexico's Gulf coast, Cristobal headed back into the southern Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday and powered back up into a tropical storm. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 7 a.m. advisory Saturday that the storm was expected to slowly strengthen until it makes landfall, expected Sunday night along the U.S. Gulf Coast. A tropical storm watch was posted for the northern Gulf of Mexico coast from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the Alabama-Florida border. Cristobal formed this week in the Bay of Campeche from the remnants of Tropical Storm Amanda, which had sprung up last weekend in the eastern Pacific and hit Central America.
Guatemala's election has global implications
Read full article: Guatemala's election has global implications(CNN) - Donald Trump would be wise to watch Guatemala's run-off presidential election this weekend closely. This means Guatemala's next president may find themselves on the receiving end of immense pressure from the US president and his administration. Guatemala's next president will be tasked with overseeing the final implementation of a controversial agreement reached between Trump and his Guatemalan counterpart, outgoing President Jimmy Morales, in late July. Between 2008 and 2012, she served as Guatemala's first lady during the presidency of her husband, Alvaro Colom. He has described the outgoing Morales as irresponsible, but has not ruled out the asylum deal himself.