Poor repair job, not recent rains, doomed building, mayor says
Associated Press Nov 7, 08 4:21 PM CST
(Newser)
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At least 30 people, many possibly children, died in Haiti today when a school building collapsed, AP reports. The school, in a village in the hills above Port-au-Prince, experienced a partial collapse in 2000. Before today, the building was under construction, and the town’s mayor said structural problems, not recent rains, were behind the disaster.
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Powerful congressman sorry for screw-up
New York Times Sep 11, 08 10:15 AM CDT
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Rep. Charles Rangel blamed his failure to pay taxes on his rental income from a Caribbean villa to “cultural and language barriers,” reports the New York Times . “Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, they’d start speaking Spanish,” Rangel said of his attempts to sort out his paperwork. The congressman admitted responsibility for his errors and submitted materials for an ethics investigation.
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Now Josephine's waiting in the wings
Associated Press Sep 4, 08 2:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Two major storms are churning across the Atlantic, with their chances of striking the US still unclear. Hurricane Ike has rapidly strengthened to a raging Category 4, while Tropical Storm Hanna is now battering the Bahamas after killing 26 in Haiti. Hanna could hit the US Saturday anywhere between Georgia and North Carolina, reports AP. Ike’s path is still uncertain.
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Tropical storm could be category 3 hurricane by tomorrow
CNN Aug 29, 08 7:46 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Tropical Storm Gustav pummeled Jamaica today with 65mph winds and may build to a category 3 storm by the time it reaches Cuba tomorrow, CNN reports. The storm killed some 51 in Haiti and eight in the Dominican Republic yesterday. Officials in the National Hurricane Center’s “cone of uncertainty” from Texas to Florida are preparing for a hit as Gustav heads toward Grand Cayman.
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Spiritual leader takes rest after months of traveling the globe
Associated Press Aug 27, 08 1:53 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Citing "exhaustion," the Dalai Lama has canceled plans to travel, the AP reports. A spokesman said the Tibetan spiritual leader would not go to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and instead would rest and undergo medical tests for the next three weeks. The 73-year-old has had an intense few months since the Lhasa protests in March, and he recently finished an 11-day trip through France.
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Could strike US as Category 3
Associated Press Aug 27, 08 11:09 AM CDT
(AP)
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Thousands fled their homes as Hurricane Gustav triggered flooding and landslides that killed at least 11 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti before weakening to a tropical storm, but forecasters said today that he still represents a major threat to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. They suggested the storm could head toward the US Gulf Coast as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane next week—with a likely forecast track pointing toward Louisiana.
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Tropical storm carries 50 mph winds
Miami Herald Aug 17, 08 6:45 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Tourists were ordered to evacuate the Florida Keys this morning, as Tropical Storm Fay, which has already killed six in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is expected to hit the Keys as soon as midnight tonight, the Miami Herald reports. With winds at 50mph and rising, Fay could be a Category 1 hurricane by the time it hits the Keys and heads for the west coast of the state, forecasters say.
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Team fires personnel chief, two scouts as investigation into skimming continues
Chicago Tribune May 19, 08 12:32 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A source with knowledge of the investigation tells the Chicago Tribune that questions about signing bonuses and how they were distributed to teenage Latin American prospects were behind the firing of David Wilder, the Chicago White Sox senior personnel director, and two of his scouts. Authorities are seeking to determine if Wilder and the scouts were skimming from those payments.
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Pitchers were honorary starters of event in Dominican Republic
New York Post Feb 7, 08 3:46 PM CST
(Newser)
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Video of Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal at a cockfight in their native Dominican Republic—where the practice is legal—was briefly available on YouTube today, the New York Post reports. The pair is seen enjoying themselves and even throwing the chickens into the ring as honorary soltadores . Martinez's rooster appears to die on the tape.
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Tens of thousands homeless as UN scrambles for aid
BBC Dec 15, 07 8:32 AM CST
(Newser)
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The death toll from a violent storm that ripped through the Caribbean earlier this week has risen to 38 as flood waters recede and rescuers comb through the wreckage, the BBC reports. All but three of the deaths from Tropical Storm Olga were in the Dominican Republic, where tens of thousands are homeless and crops have been devastated. Survivors say the government performed miserably during the storm.
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Found in just 10 feet
of water off coast of Dominican island
Associated Press Dec 14, 07 4:20 AM CST
(Newser)
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An American underwater archaeology team has found what's believed to be the remains of a ship piloted by notorious buccaneer Captain William Kidd. Indiana University researchers discovered cannons and anchors off a tiny Caribbean island in just ten feet of water, which they believe belong to the Quedagh Merchant , a ship Kidd abandoned in 1699 to face criminal charges in New York.
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Tropical storm batters Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico
Reuters Dec 13, 07 7:37 AM CST
(Newser)
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Tropical Storm Olga set off flash floods in the Dominican Republic yesterday, killing at least 8 people, reports Reuters. Another man died in a mudslide in nearby Puerto Rico. The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression by the end of the day, and predicted to head between Jamaica and Cuba toward Mexico.
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