ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (AP) — The most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history bore down on the islands of the northeast Caribbean late Tuesday, following a path predicted to then rake Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba before possibly heading for Florida over the weekend. At the far northeastern edge of the … Continue reading
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (AP) — Hurricane Irma roared into the Caribbean with record force early Wednesday, its 185-mph winds shaking homes and flooding buildings on a chain of small islands along a path toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and likely Florida by the weekend. The strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever recorded passed … Continue reading
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Irma grew into a dangerous Category 5 storm, the most powerful seen in the Atlantic in over a decade, and roared toward islands in the northeast Caribbean Tuesday on a path that could eventually take it to the United States. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Irma was … Continue reading
PEDROGAO GRANDE, Portugal (AP) — A raging forest fire in central Portugal killed at least 62 people as they desperately tried to flee, charring cars and trucks as it swept over roads. The disaster — the worst tragedy Portugal has experienced in decades — shook the nation, with the president declaring that the country’s pain … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are slipping for the second day in a row Wednesday as banks and small-company stocks continue to take steep losses. Energy companies are falling as the price of oil slides almost 4 percent. That’s canceling out gains for drug companies and household products makers. KEEPING SCORE: The Standard … Continue reading
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s president is vowing to remain in power despite a damaging new corruption allegation, but Latin America’s largest nation could very well be rudderless as long as he stays at the head of what one analyst is calling a “walking dead administration.” President Michel Temer struck a defiant note Thursday, promising … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local): 4:40 p.m. President Donald Trump has responded with a direct “no, no” to a question about whether he asked former FBI Director James Comey to shelve an investigation into his former national security adviser. Trump also was questioned Thursday over revelations that he … Continue reading
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Security Council voted unanimously Thursday, April 13, to end the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti in mid-October after 13 years, sending a strong signal that the international community believes the impoverished Caribbean nation is stabilizing after successful elections. The peacekeepers helped normalize a country in chaos after political upheaval in … Continue reading
MIAMI (AP) — A quarter-century after he vanished on the eve of a major drug indictment, the last of Miami’s fabled “cocaine cowboys” was in custody Thursday, April 13, nabbed on a suburban bike ride with his wife near Disney World. Prosecutors say the man living under an assumed name is Gustavo “Taby” Falcon, who … Continue reading
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Four young men found dead in a park from injuries inflicted by a sharp-edged object were killed in a way that is consistent with the methods of the MS-13 street gang, according to police, who declared war against gang violence in the suburbs of Long Island. The victims, ranging in … Continue reading
PHOENIX (AP) — A fugitive accused of pulling the trigger to kill a U.S. Border Patrol agent was captured in Mexico more than six years after a slaying that exposed a bungled gun-tracking operation by the U.S. government. Mexican authorities arrested Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes on Wednesday, April 12, as the U.S. government has pushed hard to … Continue reading
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Thursday, April 13, urged all countries that provide troops for U.N. peacekeeping missions to hold soldiers accountable for sexual abuse and exploitation, an appeal that came after she cited an Associated Press investigation into a child sex ring in Haiti involving Sri Lankan peacekeepers. She also … Continue reading
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets in wealthy eastern Caracas amid a tropical downpour Thursday, April 13, to support a protest movement that is gaining steam even as it turns more deadly. Venezuela officials confirmed earlier in the day that a fifth person had died in the wave of anti-government … Continue reading
HAVANA (AP) — Over the last year Ada and Anuma II have broken Marta Llanes’ television and computer key board, chewed her telephone to pieces and ruined much of her furniture. She has forgiven them every transgression. It’s hard to stay angry at a baby chimpanzee when it clambers up your leg and into your … Continue reading
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government says it has started the process of giving residency permits to 588 Cuban migrants who have been stranded in the border city of Nuevo Laredo since the U.S. ‘changed its immigration policy in January. The National Immigration Institute says the permits don’t constitute political asylum or refugee status … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 