North America

Forecasters warn of US coast rip currents caused by Humberto

MIAMI (AP) — Beachgoers on the southeastern U.S. coast should be wary of potentially dangerous rip currents caused by Hurricane Humberto, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.

Late Sunday, Humberto strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). The storm was about 785 miles (1,260 kilometers) west of Bermuda and moving northeast at 3 mph (5 kph).

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Humberto will bring large swells to the northwestern Bahamas and southeastern U.S. coast for several days.

Trump says US locked and loaded in response to drone attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tensions are flaring in the Persian Gulf after President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “locked and loaded” to respond to a weekend drone assault on Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure that his aides blamed on Iran.

The attack, which halved the kingdom’s oil production and sent crude prices spiking, led Trump to authorize the release of U.S. strategic reserves should they be necessary to stabilize markets.

Tropical Storm Humberto dumps rain on hurricane-hit Bahamas

15 September 2019; AFP: Tropical Storm Humberto lashed the Bahamas with rain and wind on Saturday, possibly slowing down relief efforts in the wake of the devastation wrought less than two weeks ago by Hurricane Dorian.

The US National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 miles (95 kilometers) per hour, was passing Saturday evening about 85 miles north of Great Abaco Island, one of the areas hardest hit by Dorian.

UAW contract with GM expires, increasing risk of strike

DETROIT (AP) — The four-year contract between General Motors and the United Auto Workers has expired as negotiations on a new deal continue.

Union officials told GM they would let the contract lapse just before midnight Saturday, increasing the risk of a strike as early as Sunday night. Union members working Sunday were to report as scheduled.

But there was a wrinkle. About 850 UAW-represented janitors who work for Aramark, a separate company, went on strike Sunday after working under an extended contract since March of 2018, the union said.

White House says bin Laden son killed in US operation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Saturday that Hamza bin Laden , the son of the late al-Qaida leader who had become an increasingly prominent figure in the terrorist organization, was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

A statement issued in President Donald Trump’s name gave no further details, such as when Hamza bin Laden was killed or how the United States had confirmed his death. Administration officials would provide no more information beyond the three-sentence statement from the White House.

Don’t vote? The Trump campaign would like a word with you

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Ashley Arentz is a political unicorn.

The 28-year-old Marine from Jacksonville, North Carolina, didn’t vote in 2016, and she wasn’t even registered to vote in the state. But there she was on Monday, standing in line for hours in the 90-degree heat waiting to enter President Donald Trump’s rally in Fayetteville. That made her a golden target for the volunteers in day-glow yellow T-shirts working to register new voters.

Arentz said she likes the president because he’s “just being straightforward.”

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