Rafael dumps rain

Rafael dumps rain

charlotte amalie, u.s. virgin islands

Tropical Storm Rafael lashed the eastern Caribbean on Saturday with heavy rains that are expected to unleash floods on islands around the region.

The storm was about 85 miles east of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands at 8 p.m. Saturday. It had top sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving north at 12 mph.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm will gain some strength and could become a hurricane by late Monday.

Turkish PM blasts UN Security Council

istanbul

Turkey’s prime minister sharply criticized the U.N. Security Council on Saturday for its failure to agree on decisive steps to end Syria’s civil war, as NATO ally Germany backed the Turkish interception of a Damascus-bound passenger jet earlier in the week.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an international conference in Istanbul that the world was witnessing a humanitarian tragedy in Syria.

Russia and China, two of the five permanent Security Council members, have vetoed resolutions that sought to put concerted pressure on Damascus to end the conflict and agree to a political transition.

Weather is good for skydive, expert says

roswell, n.m.

The weekend weather in New Mexico appears to be cooperating this time for a daredevil trying to become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.

Meteorologist Don Day said the weather forecast remained favorable for former Austrian paratrooper Felix Baumgartner’s jump, scheduled for early today near Roswell, N.M.

Baumgartner planned to launch his 30-million-cubic- foot helium balloon to hoist a 3,000-pound capsule that will carry the jumper 23 miles up in the sky. The jump has been canceled twice due to high winds, once damaging the balloon and forcing use of a backup for today’s planned launch.

22 rescued after boat hits shoal

san francisco

Nearly two dozen people who were enjoying a bachelor party on what’s billed as San Francisco Bay’s only “floating wine tasting room” are OK after their boat hit a shoal near Alcatraz Island and began sinking Friday night, officials said.

The 45-foot Neptune hit the shoal at 8:42 p.m. and started taking on water after the impact left a 1-foot gash in the side of the boat, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. j.g. Josh Dykman said.

The boat’s captain tried to steer the stricken vessel to San Francisco’s Pier 39. But the boat started having rudder issues and began to sink about 300 feet from the pier, Dykman said.

Three Coast Guard boats took all 22 passengers and crewmembers off the vessel and brought them to the pier, Dykman said. San Francisco fire and San Francisco police boats also responded. There were no injuries.

Plant worker dies by being cooked

santa fe springs, calif.

Authorities say a 62-year-old employee was cooked to death at a Southern California seafood plant for tuna maker Bumble Bee Foods. The Whittier Daily News reports Jose Melena was found before 7 a.m. ThursdaySFlbat the Santa Fe Springs plant.

Erika Monterroza, a spokeswoman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, says it’s unclear how the man ended up inside a cooking device called a “steamer machine.” The state agency has launched an investigation.

Associated Press