Category: Americas

Argentina Battles Major Dengue Outbreak With Atomic Radiation

BUENOS AIRES—Argentine, fighting one of its worst outbreaks of dengue in recent years, is sterilizing mosquitoes using radiation that alters their DNA before releasing them into the wild. The South American country has this year recorded over 41,000 cases of the disease transmitted by mosquitoes, far above the equivalent level in previous years of major…


FBI Releases Video of Missing Californian Woman Being Abducted in Mexico

The FBI has released new details in a California woman missing person’s case, along with surveillance videos of the moments leading up to her abduction in Jalisco, Mexico. Monica de Leon Barba, a U.S. citizen from the Bay Area, has been reported missing since Nov. 29, 2022, according to FBI documents. Barba was last seen…


Gunmen Storm Mexican Resort, Kill 7, Including Child

MEXICO CITY—Armed men on Saturday killed a child and six others after storming a resort in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, authorities said, in a region increasingly plagued by drug cartel violence. Footage widely shared on social media showed the aftermath of the attack in a palm-studded resort in the small town of Cortazar,…


Gang Clash Leaves at Least 12 Dead in Ecuador Prison

QUITO—At least 12 inmates were killed in an Ecuadorian jail amid a new clash between gangs, the SNAI prison agency said on Saturday, in the latest chapter in the South American nation’s prison violence. The confrontation occurred on Friday in the prison known as La Penitenciaría, in the city of Guayaquil, one of the country’s…


Brazil’s Lula, China’s Xi Solidify Anti-West Bloc Aimed at Displacing US

Amidst the buzz surrounding Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s China visit that began on April 12, the leaders of both countries have signed more than 20 new bilateral agreements. On the surface, the trip was a run-of-the-mill diplomatic visit. However, some say it underscores an ongoing deprioritization of relations with the United States. China…


European Spacecraft on Way to Jupiter and Its Icy Moons

A European spacecraft rocketed away Friday on a decadelong quest to explore Jupiter and three of its icy moons that could hold buried oceans. The journey began with a perfect morning liftoff by Europe’s Ariane rocket from French Guiana on the coast of South America. But there were some tense minutes later as controllers awaited…


Fire in a Children’s Shelter in Brazil Leaves at Least 4 Dead, 13 Injured

At least four people died and 13 were injured in a fire at a shelter for children and adolescents in Northeastern Brazil on Friday, the local fire department said. Firemen were called to fight a fire at the Lar Paulo de Tarso charity institution in Recife, capital of the Pernambuco state, at around 4:20 a.m….


Feds Won’t Pursue Charges in Death of US Tourist at Mexican Villa

Prosecutors will not pursue federal charges in connection to the death of a 25-year-old American woman who died last year while vacationing with friends in Mexico, officials announced on Wednesday. In a statement released on April 12, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) met with the family of Shanquella…


Tame 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Hangs on Developing El Nino

HOUSTON—A slightly below-average 2023 Atlantic hurricane season lies ahead with an El Nino weather phenomenon damping the storm outlook, a top U.S. hurricane forecaster said on Thursday. El Nino, a weather system that forms from warm ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, increases vertical wind shear, lessening or breaking up tropical storms….


Deep Dive: The Brutal War Between Mexico’s Drug Cartels

The war between Mexico’s drug cartels has reached new heights as older major cartels have fragmented, increasing competition between the splinter groups and leading to more grisly acts of violence, even against Americans. The most recent example of the brutality by Mexican drug cartels against U.S. citizens is that of the four kidnapped Americans in…