Patrick Hamilton, ex-AP and Reuters photographer who covered Central American wars, dies at 74
Patrick 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.
Caribbean storm likely to gain force, hit Central America
The 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.
Nicaragua approves Russian COVID-19 vaccine
A nurse shows to the press a vial of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 during a vaccination campaign inside River Plate stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)MANAGUA โ Nicaraguaโs government said Wednesday that it had approved Russiaโs Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. โNicaragua is advancing in its negotiations with Russia to supplyโ the vaccine, said the government outlet El 19 Digital. It was the first vaccine approved in Nicaragua, which still awaits its first doses. Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela are among other left-leaning governments in the hemisphere that have approved the vaccine.
The Latest: Mexico sees near-record daily coronavirus deaths
(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)MEXICO CITY โ Mexico reported a near-record 1,707 confirmed coronavirus deaths Wednesday, as the country runs out of vaccines. Ad___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:Spain surpasses 60,000 confirmed virus deaths. British officials say Oxford study backs up their decision to delay second vaccine shot for up to 12 weeks. Ad___OKLAHOMA CITY -- About 11,500 doses of the coronavirus vaccine will be shipped to pharmacies across Oklahoma next week, state health officials said. ___MANAGUA, Nicaragua โ Nicaraguaโs government says it has approved Russiaโs Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.
Dangerous Hurricane Iota makes landfall on Nicaragua coast
Locals move on street barely cleared from the debris of the last storm, before Hurricane Iota makes landfall in La Lima, Honduras, Monday, November 16, 2020. Hurricane Iota rapidly strengthened Monday into a Category 5 storm that is likely to bring catastrophic damage to the same part of Central America already battered by a powerful Hurricane Eta less than two weeks ago. (AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)MANAGUA โ 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.
Hurricane Iota heads for already battered Central America
Iota became a Category 2 hurricane late Sunday afternoon, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned it would likely be an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm when it approached the Central America mainland late Monday. It was already a record-breaking system, being the 30th named storm of this yearโs extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. It hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least 120 people as torrential rains caused flash floods and mudslides in parts of Central America and Mexico. Eta was the 28th named storm of this yearโs hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. The official end of hurricane season is Nov. 30.
Iota threatens second tropical hit for Nicaragua, Honduras
Eta weakened from the Category 4 hurricane to a tropical storm after lashing Nicaragua's Caribbean coast for much of Tuesday, its floodwaters isolating already remote communities and setting off deadly landslides. (AP Photo/Carlos Herrera)ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. โ Tropical Storm Iota was brewing in the Caribbean Sea early Saturday, threatening a second tropical strike for Nicaragua and Honduras, countries recently ransacked by a Category 4 Hurricane Eta. Iota could wreak more havoc in a region where people are still grappling with the aftermath of Eta. Iota is already a record-setting system, being the 30th named storm of this yearโs extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. Eta was the 28th named storm of this yearโs hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms.
Iota Dissipates Over Central America
The 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.
Weakened Eta drenches Central America; at least 57 dead
A pregnant woman is carried out of an area flooded by water brought by Hurricane Eta in Planeta, Honduras, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)TEGUCIGALPA โ The rain-heavy remnants of Hurricane Eta flooded homes from Panama to Guatemala Thursday as the death toll across Central America rose to at least 57, and aid organizations warned the flooding and mudslides were creating a slow-moving humanitarian disaster across the region. Eta had sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) and was moving north at 8 mph (13 kph) Thursday. When whatโs left of the storm wobbles back into the Caribbean it will regain some strength and become a tropical storm again, forecasts show. โWhatever comes out (of Central America) is going to linger awhile,โ said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Eta brings heavy rains, deadly mudslides to Honduras
(AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)MANAGUA โ Eta moved into Honduras on Wednesday as a weakened tropical depression but still bringing the heavy rains that have drenched and caused deadly landslides in the country's east and in northern Nicaragua. Before the center of Eta had even reached Honduras, hundreds of people had been forced from their homes by floodwaters. Eta left a path of destruction across northern Nicaragua starting with the coastal city of Bilwi. Northern Nicaragua is home to most of the countryโs production of coffee, a critical export. In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Odalys continued to move across the open ocean and posed no threat to land.
Hurricane Eta grinds inland into Nicaragua; at least 3 dead
A man fixes the roof of a home surrounded by floodwaters brought on by Hurricane Eta in Wawa, Nicaragua, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Carlos Herrera)MANAGUA โ Hurricane Eta churned inland through northeast Nicaragua Tuesday night with devastating winds and rains that destroyed rooftops, caused rivers to overflow and left at least three people dead in the region. The hurricane had sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, down from an overnight peak of 150 mph (240 kph). Even before it made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, Honduras reported the first death after a mudslide trapped a 12-year-old girl in San Pedro Sula and two miners were killed in a mudslide in Bonanza, Nicaragua. Hurricane season still has a month to go, ending Nov. 30.
Hurricane Eta threatens to bring flooding, storm surge
MEXICO CITY โ New Hurricane Eta quickly gained force Monday as it headed for Central America on the verge of becoming a major hurricane, threatening massive flooding and landslides across a vulnerable region. Eta nearly tripled in strength in just 24 hours, rapidly intensifying from a 40 mph (65 kph) storm Sunday morning to a 110 mph (175 kph) hurricane on the threshold of becoming a major hurricane Monday morning. Forecasters warned that could bring life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, flash flooding and landslides when it makes landfall. Eta is now the eighth Atlantic storm this season to hit the meteorologistsโ definition for rapid intensification. Hurricane season still has a month to go, ending Nov. 30.
Tropical Depression Forms Over The Central Caribbean Sea
Location 315 miles SE of Kingston Jamaica Wind 35 mph Heading W at 15 mph Pressure 29.71 Coordinates 73.2W, 15.0NDiscussionAt 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Twenty-Nine was located near latitude 15.0 North, longitude 73.2 West. The depression is moving toward the west near 15 mph (24 km/h), and this westward motion is expected to continue through Sunday night. Strengthening is forecast, and the depression is expected to become a tropical storm tonight. Hurricane or tropical storm watches will likely be required for portions of these countries later tonight or early Sunday. Across portions of Central America, 10 to 15 inches of rain, with local amounts to 25 inches are expected.
Court: Trump can end temporary legal status for 4 countries
PASADENA, Calif. โ The Trump administration can end humanitarian protections that have allowed hundreds of thousands of people from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan to remain in the United States, a divided appeals court ruled Monday. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a preliminary injunction that blocked the government from ending Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for people from those four countries that are affected by natural disasters and civil conflict. Since 1990, the policy has granted temporary legal status, which is often extended. But the Trump administration decided to end it for several countries, saying the conditions that justified protections in America no longer exist. More than 400,000 people from 10 countries have the protected status, including some 250,000 from El Salvador, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Latin America's evangelical churches hard hit by pandemic
Throughout Latin America, a traditionally Catholic region with a surging evangelical presence in nearly every country, evangelical churches have kept spreading the Gospel despite government measures meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In at least two countries, evangelical pastors have died in alarming numbers during the pandemic. Some have attended evangelical services in the city of Atalaia do Norte and then brought the virus to our lands," he said. In Nicaragua, evangelical churches large and small stayed open too at least at first. Back in Nicaragua, many evangelical churches have reopened, some with health precautions, like Bethel where congregants are asked to bring their own hand sanitizer.
Virtual preparation allows Miss Nicaragua amid pandemic
Ana Marcelo, an agroindustrial engineer from the city of Esteli, poses with the crown after being chosen Miss Nicaragua, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. Marcelo was crowned in front of a limited audience (two people per contestant spaced safely) plus a production crew of 85. The masks were off the contestants, but the judges wore them and were spaced at a safe distance. And when eight contestants vying to be Miss Nicaragua did finally start in-person practices, they did so with masks covering their faces. On Saturday night, 23-year-old Ana Marcelo, an agroindustrial engineer from Estel, was crowned Miss Nicaragua in front of a limited audience (two people per contestant spaced safely) plus a production crew of 85.
Woman who escaped Nicaragua speaks with Local 4 after winning asylum case in Detroit
DETROIT - A woman who embarked on a dangerous journey to escape her home country won her asylum case in Detroit. She won her asylum case in Detroit. She wants to pursue a career in construction in the United States, and is hoping to soon get her driver's license. ICE uses the Calhoun County Jail, Monroe County Jail and the St. Clair County Jail to house undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. The United States recognizes the legal right of asylum for individuals as specified by international and federal law.