Month: August 2024

On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department announced in San Antonio that a Guatemalan man has been charged with helping coordinate the 2022 smuggling attempt that ended in the deaths of 53 migrants, who were found dead in a big-rig trailer in 2022 in Texas. Guatemalan law enforcement worked with U.S. agents in multiple search and arrest warrants across Guatemala.

U.S. authorities are seeking to extradite Rigoberto Roman Miranda Orozco, 47, who was indicted in the Western District of Texas in connection with the tractor trailer deaths — the deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. The bodies were found in San Antonio in the back of a tractor trailer in which the air conditioning was broken and there was no water, according to prosecutors.  Authorities alleged that Orozco could be connected to four Guatemalan migrants in the trailer, three of whom died, and faces up to life in prison if convicted. Six others also were arrested as part of the operation and will be charged in Guatemala. 14 people have been arrested for their roles, in all.

Attorney General Garland said in a news release: “Over the past two years, the Justice Department has worked methodically to hold accountable those responsible for the horrific tragedy in San Antonio that killed 53 people who had been preyed on by human smugglers. We are committed to continuing to work with our partners both in the United States and abroad to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia and Panama.”

In January, a Mexican national, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, 31, pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle the migrants, admitting to accompanying the loaded tractor-trailer before it was abandoned in San Antonio.  Christian Martinez, 29, of Texas also pleaded guilty in September for his involvement with four other suspects, including Homero Zamorano Jr., the 47-year-old driver of the tractor.

On June 1, 2021 — one year before the incident — Garland created Joint Task Force Alpha in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen U.S. enforcement efforts against human smuggling emanating from Central America. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement: “Today’s arrests in Guatemala are a continued fulfillment of that pledge. We will not rest in our efforts to disrupt the smuggling networks that capitalize on desperation and foster misery throughout the Western Hemisphere.”

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said: “Smugglers prey on migrants and seek profits with complete disregard for human life, as we saw in this tragic incident that killed 53 people. The men and women at Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection work every day to disrupt these sophisticated smuggling networks, and we will continue to work alongside our federal and international partners to dismantle them at every level of operation.”

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On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approved and granted emergency use authorization for updated Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for the upcoming fall and winter season. The shots should be available within days; as of press time, the FDA hadn’t yet approved a third vaccine from drugmaker Novavax.

The FDA said the vaccines will target the KP.2 strain, which is an offshoot of the omicron variant, marking the third time the vaccines have been updated to match circulating strains since the original series. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a statement: “Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention. These updated vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variant.”

The timing of the new vaccines release comes as most of the U.S. is caught in the summer wave of Covid illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (‘CDC’) reported that the number of people testing positive for Covid keeps rising and that emergency room visits for Covid have been increasing since mid-May, with hospitalizations also on the rise.

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Italian authorities say a fifth body has been found in the search for those missing from the superyacht Bayesian, which sank earlier in the week after it was caught in the storm while anchored off the coast of Porticello, a village near the Sicilian capital city of Palermo.. The identities of the bodies retrieved were not immediately released.

Salvatore Cocina, director of the island’s Civil Protection Agency, confirmed to NBC News that divers recovered four bodies Wednesday from inside a superyacht that sank in a sudden storm off Sicily. Later on Wednesday, Cocina confirmed to Sky News that a fifth body had been found and was being brought to shore. One passenger remains missing. Their recovery follows a dayslong search in the deep waters off the Italian coast where British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and several others were believed to be trapped in the hull. Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy; and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, are also missing.

The vessel sank early Monday after its mast — one of the world’s tallest — broke in half during a violent storm. The yacht sank after a small waterspout (a type of tornado) spun over the Mediterranean island, likely capsizing the boat. Fifteen people were rescued, with six initially reported missing, and one body recovered Monday – the ship’s cook, identified as Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas. The Bayesian is owned by a firm linked to Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who was among the survivors rescued by a nearby vessel after getting into a lifeboat.

According to CharterWorld Luxury Yacht Charters, the U.K.-registered Bayesian yacht was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi in 2008. It could carry 12 guests and a crew of up to 10, with its nearly 250-foot mast being noted as the ‘tallest aluminum sailing mast in the world.’

Italian rescue teams are expected to continue their search at dawn on Thursday, after concluding their search for the day.

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New Jersey Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a 14-term incumbent and a fixture in his hometown of Paterson for more than four decades, died on Wednesday at the age of 87. Pascrell was slated to run for a 15th term in the fall.

Pascrell died Wednesday morning at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, according to his long-time chief of staff, Ben Rich. A cause of death has not yet been released, but Pascrell had been suffering with a respiratory illness that hospitalized him for nearly a month over the summer.

His family also posted on social media: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that Bill Pascrell Jr., our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away this morning. As our United States Representative, Bill fought to his last breath to return to the job he cherished and to the people he loved. Bill lived his entire life in Paterson and had an unwavering love for the city he grew up in and served. He is now at peace after a lifetime devoted to our great nation America.”

Pascrell was a graduate of Fordham University and served in the Army for six years. He worked as a teacher in Paterson and served on the Board of Education there from 1979 to 1982 before going on to the state Legislature.  He was first elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1988, and then was elected mayor of Paterson in 1990. He went on to serve in Congress in 1996.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy remembered Pascrell for “an unwavering instinct for drawing strength from our state’s diversity” and said he was a “champion for our most vulnerable neighbors. He was a unifier in every sense of the word— and always sought to bring the people of New Jersey together around our shared principles. But for many New Jerseyans, Bill will be remembered most fondly for leading the fight for our families in Congress over the past 27 years. At every stage of his Congressional career, he stood up for our neighbors by defending access to reproductive health care, keeping our communities safe from gun violence, supporting our law enforcement officers and first responders, protecting our natural wonders — like Paterson’s Great Falls — and so much more.”

Pascrell is the second New Jersey representative to die in office this year; Rep. Donald Payne Jr. died in April, and was succeeded on the ballot in a special primary held last month by Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver. It’s unclear yet whether there will be a special election to fill Pascrell’s unexpired term, which ends in January.

Rep. Rob Menendez wrote on social media: “Bill Pascrell was more than a colleague, he was a friend, mentor and someone who I greatly admired and loved. Bill was Paterson to his core – tough but compassionate, a relentless fighter who always championed his constituents and never encountered a fight he wasn’t ready to take on. He loved his job and he did it with purpose every single day. His voice, his work, and his dedication will never be forgotten. But today is a sad day. I’m going to miss Bill so very much. It’s hard to think about going back to DC and not seeing him there on the House floor in the back corner holding court or after votes getting together to connect over a meal. He was a true friend and I will forever cherish our time together and I will always carry his memory with me. May he rest in peace.”

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On Tuesday, BMW announced it is recalling it is recalling 720,796 vehicles in North America due to an issue with the water pump’s electrical connector that may short circuit as a result of faulty installation, posing a fire hazard.

According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, the impacted vehicles have water pumps with insufficient sealing, and may be susceptible to fluid ingress at the electrical plug connector over time. There is the possibility that a short circuit could occur, and there’s the potential for a fire, in rare cases.

Recall documents posted by the NHTSA read that “an improperly sealed electrical connector on the water pump may be exposed to water and short circuit .. specifically, blowby-liquid from the positive crankcase ventilation system may collect on the intake air hose, eventually drip onto the plug connector .. this could increase the risk of a thermal event and, in rare cases, a fire.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the recall applies to the following BMW models:

• BMW 228XI 2014-2016
• BMW 328I 2012-2016
• BMW 328XI 2012-2016
• BMW 428I 2014-2016
• BMW 428XI 2015-2016
• BMW 528I 2012-2016
• BMW X1 2012-2015
• BMW X3 2013-2017
• BMW X4 2015-2018
• BMW X5 2016-2018
• BMW Z4 2012-2016

Notification letters will be mailed to vehicle owners on October 4, where they will be instructed to take their cars to an authorized BMW center  where water pumps and plug connectors will be inspected and replaced as necessary for free. Per the recall report, a shield will be also installed to divert any fluid that might drop down onto the pump from the positive crankcase ventilation system’s intake air house.  Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW’s number for the recall is “24V-608.” Owners can also contact NHTSA’s safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (toll-free at 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.nhtsa.gov for further information.

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The Israeli military said Tuesday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages who were taken into the Gaza Strip following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attacks. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that troops recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages in an overnight operation in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The operation came as the United States, Egypt and Qatar pushed for a cease-fire deal that would end Israel’s monthslong military offensive in Gaza and see the release of the hostages who remain held in the enclave.

In a joint statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) identified the hostages as: Haim Perry, 80; Yoram Metzger, 80; Avraham Munder, 79; Alexander Dancyg, 76; Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Yagev Buchshtav, 35.  Metzger, Munder, Popplewell and Buchshtav had family members who were also abducted but freed during a November cease-fire.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that he’d had a productive meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he had accepted a bridging proposal for a cease-fire deal and that it was “now incumbent on Hamas to do the same.” Hamas on Tuesday expressed “astonishment” at the suggestion that it was holding up a deal, calling the comments by Blinken and President Joe Biden “misleading claims that do not reflect the true position of the movement, which is keen to reach a cessation of aggression. We consider these statements a renewed American green light for the government of Zionist extremists to commit more crimes against defenseless civilians, and in pursuit of the goals of exterminating and displacing our people.”

Netanyahu said in a statement on Tuesday: “tonight our forces returned the bodies of six of our hostages who were held by the murderous terrorist organization Hamas… we thank those involved in the operation for their bravery and determined action .. our hearts ache for the terrible loss.” 

According to Israeli officials, more than 100 hostages remain held in Gaza, with around a third of them believed to be dead. Netanyahu said in a statement shared on X:  “The State of Israel will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages — the living and the deceased.”  

According to data from the Israeli Government Press Office, there are currently 109 Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, including 36 believed to be dead. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 92,000 injured during Israel’s war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the enclave.

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