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TROPICAL ISAIAS RAKES FLORIDA, RACING UP EASTERN SEABOARD
VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Bands of heavy rain from Isaias lashed Florida’s east coast yesterday, with the tropical storm strengthening slightly in the evening on its way up the Eastern seaboard.
Officials dealing with surging cases of the coronavirus in Florida kept a close watch on the storm that was weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon, but still brought heavy rain and flooding to Florida’s Atlantic coast.
The National Hurricane Center advised at 5 p.m. ET yesterday that the storm was about 65 miles off the midpoint of Florida’s east coast, and about 410 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
It was strengthening slightly with sustained winds just under a category 1 hurricane, taking a north-northwest path, according to the center.
“Don’t be fooled by the downgrade,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned at a news conference after the storm — pronounced ees-ah-EE'-ahs — spent hours roughing up the Bahamas.
Upper-level winds took much of the strength out of Isaias, said Stacy Stewart, senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center in Miami.
Authorities closed beaches, parks and virus testing sites, lashing signs to palm trees so they wouldn’t blow away. DeSantis said the state is anticipating power outages and asked residents to have a week’s supply of water, food and medicine on hand. Officials wrestled with how to prepare shelters where people can seek refuge from the storm if necessary, while also safely social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.
RNC CONVENTION PLANS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The vote to renominate President Donald Trump is set to be conducted in private later this month, without members of the press present — because of the coronavirus, says a spokeswoman for the Republican National Convention.
However, a Republican National Committee official contradicted that assessment yesterday, emphasizing that no final decisions have been made and that logistics and press coverage options were still being evaluated, The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
While Trump called off the public components of the convention in Florida last month, citing spiking cases of the virus across the country, 336 delegates are scheduled to gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Aug. 24 to formally vote to make Trump the GOP standard-bearer once more.
Nominating conventions are traditionally meant to be media bonanzas, as political parties seek to leverage the attention the events draw to spread their message to as many voters as possible. If the GOP decision stands, it will be the first party nominating convention in modern history to be closed to reporters.
MARINE CORPS: TROOPS MISSING FROM SUNKEN LANDING CRAFT PRESUMED DEAD
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eight troops missing after their landing craft sank off the Southern California coast during a training exercise are presumed dead, the Marine Corps.
The Marines announced yesterday that they had called off the search that started late Thursday afternoon when the amphibious assault vehicle sank with 15 Marines and one Navy sailor aboard. Eight Marines were rescued, but one later died and two are in critical condition.
The 26-ton, tank-like craft took on water and quickly sank in hundreds of feet of water — too deep for divers — making it difficult to reach.
“It is with as heavy heart that I decided to conclude the search and rescue effort,” said Col. Christopher Bronzi, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
All of the Marines aboard were attached to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at nearby Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. They ranged in age from 19 to early 30's and all were wearing combat gear, including body armor and flotation vests.
The craft was one of 13 amphibious assault vehicles that had just completed an exercise. It was heading back to a Navy ship when it began taking on water about a half-mile from the Navy-owned island off San Diego.
Troops on board two other amphibious assault vehicles responded quickly but couldn’t stop the vessel from sinking.
TWO ASTRONAUTS SPLASHDOWN TO EARTH AFTER SPACEX FLIGHT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth yesterday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.
It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to carry people to and from orbit. The return clears the way for another SpaceX crew launch as early as next month and possible tourist flights next year.
Test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken rode the SpaceX Dragon capsule back to Earth less than a day after departing the International Space Station and two months after blasting off from Florida. The capsule parachuted into the calm gulf waters about 40 miles off the coast of Pensacola, hundreds of miles from Tropical Storm Isaias pounding Florida’s Atlantic coast.
“Welcome back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX,” said Mission Control from SpaceX headquarters.
“It was truly our honor and privilege,” replied Hurley.
More than an hour after splashdown, the astronauts emerged from their capsule on the deck of a recovery ship, both signaling a thumbs-up as they headed for medical exams.
ONE YEAR COMMEMORATION OF EL PASO WALMART SHOOTING
UNDATED (AP) — An infant boy who survived a shooting last year that left his parents and 21 others dead now likes to thumb through picture books and dance to a Batman jingle with his grandmother, according to an uncle who helps care for the 1-year-old.
It will be years before Paul Anchondo learns what happened to his parents in an event that many El Paso residents still struggle to comprehend, Tito Anchondo said. Anchondo’s brother Andre and sister-in-law Jordan died in the shooting at a Walmart store.
“We’ve been putting collections together of my brother’s photos, his accomplishments, basically trying to get as much information that we can and save it for” the boy, Tito Anchondo said. “When he does get to that age, we can tell him, ‘You know what, like, this is what happened to your dad. ... Something horrible happened to your mom and dad. But, you know, we’re still here.’”
Authorities say Jordan Anchondo shielded the baby from gunfire, while her husband shielded them both. Paul suffered broken fingers and became the focus of public adulation as a seemingly miraculous survivor of the horror.
Tito Anchondo said “baby Paul” won’t attend a series of events associated with the anniversary of the Aug. 3, 2019, shooting because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Paul’s paternal grandmother has health conditions that could make her extra vulnerable to the virus.
A relative of the boy’s deceased mother declined to offer thoughts on the anniversary of the shooting. Tito acknowledged that Paul has been the focus of court-supervised custody negotiations between his paternal and maternal families.
Tito Anchondo’s parents grew up in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez, adjacent to El Paso. He works with his father at their auto-body repair shop in El Paso and describes himself as a patriot who regards the United States as a land of opportunity. He supports the president without reservations.
Tito said the mass shooting opened his eyes to divisive political, racial and ethnic tensions beyond El Paso. Authorities say the gunman was targeting Latinos.
MEXICAN AUTHORITIES ARREST DRUG KINGPIN
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican police and military forces have arrested the leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima gang who spread violence through north-central Mexico and fought a years-long bloody turf battle with the Jalisco cartel.
The armed forces and officials in the state of Guanajuato said they had captured José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, better known by his nickname “El Marro,” which means “The Sledgehammer.”
Yépez Ortiz was unusual among gang leaders because he posted videos with emotional calls to his followers, including one in June showing him appearing to cry after several of his supporters and relatives were arrested. In another video around the same time, he threatened to join forces with the Sinaloa cartel to defeat Jalisco, Mexico’s fastest-rising drug cartel.
The turf battle with Jalisco turned the industrial hub of Guanajuato, with its foreign auto plants and parts suppliers, into the most violent state in Mexico, with 2,293 murders in the first six months of this year. The Santa Rosa gang has been blamed by some observers for the July attack on a drug rehabilitation center in the city of Irapuato in which 27 men were killed.
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