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International:

Ida hurricane watch for Mexico's Caribbean coast

CANCUN, Mexico – Officials readied storm shelters along Mexico's Caribbean coast Saturday and told fishermen and tour operators to pull in their boats amid warnings that Tropical Storm Ida could become a hurricane as it neared the resort city of Cancun.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ida's winds strengthened to near 70 mph (110 kph), just short of a Category 1 hurricane. A tentative forecast track predicted Ida could brush the U.S. Gulf Coast next week as a tropical storm.
Tropical-storm warnings were issued for the Mexican coastline from Punta Allen, south of Tulum, to San Felipe at the top of the Yucatan Peninsula, an area that includes Cancun. The warnings were also in effect for western Cuba and Grand Cayman Island.
A hurricane watch was in effect from Tulum to Cabo Catoche.
As rain began pelting down in Cancun, the beaches were empty but tourists walked the streets under umbrellas or improvised rain ponchos.
Authorities started up a reporting system used to locate tourists and plan potential evacuations or shelters. Quintana Roo state Tourism Director Sara Latife Ruiz said there were about 36,000 foreign and Mexican tourists in Cancun.
"We can locate them and if necessary, take them to some temporary shelter," said Latife Ruiz. "Right now, no flights have been canceled ... and there has been no evacuation of tourists."
State civil defense Director Luis Carlos Rodriguez said "there is still time to protect property, so we have advised fishermen, small boat owners and those living in low-lying areas of Tulum, Holbox, Cancun and Playa del Carmen to take safety measures for their property."
Juan Granados, assistant director of civil defense, said the state was on yellow alert and that Ida was also expected to brush the nearby island tourist destinations of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.
"We'll get some wind and rain, but that's about it," said James Watts, 34, part of a family from British Columbia, Canada that runs The Summer Place Inn and a real estate firm on Cozumel.
Employees at the inn weren't taping up or boarding over windows, but Watts said small boats would be pulled ashore, adding "we'll put some sandbags in them to keep them from going anywhere."
Saturday afternoon, Ida was centered about 200 miles (325 kilometers) east-southeast of Cozumel and moving north at about 10 mph (17 kph). It was projected to pass the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday.
Granados said seven storm shelters were being readied on Cozumel, five on Isla Mujeres and seven on Holbox, an island north of the peninsula. Statewide, dozens more were being readied for use if needed.
Authorities suspended fishing along part of the coast and told tour operators who offer reef snorkeling and diving excursions to stay in port, Granados added.
Popular Mayan sites such as the seaside ruins of Tulum were to remain open, but employees worked to clean up debris that could become a hazard in high winds, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement.
John Cangialosi, a specialist at the Hurricane Center, said that as Ida heads north across the Gulf of Mexico, it is expected to meet a cold front that is moving south — making longer-term forecasts complicated for now.
"There's going to be some sort of interaction between the two, but where they interact, and how, and the timing of the thing, that's kind of the big question mark," Cangialosi said.
Regardless of how the cold front affects the tropical system, Cangialosi said residents on the north Gulf Coast can expect lots of wind and heavy rain.
Ida plowed into Nicaragua's Atlantic coast on Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane, damaging 500 homes along with bridges, power lines, roads and public buildings.
Cuba's national Meteorological Center said it did not expect any direct impact from the storm, but noted it could cause heavy rains in the western province of Pinar del Rio.



Analysis:

In Mexico, they were getting ready for Tropical Storm Ida. This Tropical Storm isn't exactly a hurricane yet but it might if it precedes to get stronger. It is a 70 mph (110 kph) storm, which means it can be a category 1. Officials have told most of the citizens in Mexico to stay away from the beach, fishermen to not be in there boats and pull them in from the dock. The areas that this warning is in effect are, Punta Allen south of Tulum, to San Felipe at the top of the Yucatan Peninsula. Some of Cancun will also be hit, but will leave minor damages. Cuba's national Meteorological Center said that the Western Province of Pinar del Rio might get some heavy rain.





National:

Officer Says He's Not Hero, Just Doing Job


One of two police officers who confronted the alleged Fort Hood killer says he shot Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan before kicking the man's weapon away, handcuffing him and ending the nation's worst killing spree on a military base. Sgt. Mark Todd joined Sgt. Kimberly Munley, hailed as a hero for her actions, in a firefight with Hasan that lasted less than a minute. Todd, 42, was not wounded, but the exchange left Munley injured and Hasan critically wounded.Seconds after Todd arrived on the scene, he said he saw a calm-looking Hasan, his gun drawn and his fingers pointing at people."He was firing at people as they were trying to run and hide," Todd told The Associated Press Saturday.That's when Todd, a retired soldier who now works as a civilian police officer at Fort Hood, said he shouted at Hasan."I told him stop and drop your weapons. I identified myself as police and he turned and fired a couple of rounds at me. I didn't hear him say a word ... he just turned and fired."There has been confusion since Thursday's rampage about whose bullets actually brought down Hasan, who was shot four times. At first, Munley's supervisor said it was her shot to Hasan's torso that leveled him, but Army officials would only say that an investigation was under way.Munley was down by the time he engaged Hasan, Todd said. He wasn't sure if Munley had wounded the suspect, because "once he started firing at me, I lost track of her."Todd said he fired his Beretta at Hasan. Hasan flinched, Todd said, then slid down against a telephone pole and fell on his back. Todd says he then heard bystanders say "two more, two more."At first he thought they meant there were two more suspects, but realized they were urging him to fire two more rounds at Hasan, thinking he was still posing a threat.Todd approached the suspect and saw that he still had a weapon in his hand. Todd kicked away the gun, which he said had a laser-aiming device attached to it."He was breathing, his eyes were blinking. You could tell that he was fading out. He didn't say anything. He was just kind of blinking," said Todd.Todd handcuffed Hasan and checked to see if he was still alive. "He had a good pulse," said Todd. He also cut off pieces of Hasan's clothes so he could get first aid and noticed Hasan had gunshot wounds on his side and back.From the time he got to the scene until Hasan dropped, the whole encounter lasted only about 30-45 seconds, Todd said. "It was pretty intense. There was a lot of people shouting, a lot of people giving directions," he said.Munley, whose injuries weren't believed to be life threatening, won wide praise after the incident.She was in worse shape than the other eight patients that arrived at Metroplex Adventist Hospital in Killeen -- except for one who died en route, said Dr. Scott McAninch. She was rushed into surgery within minutes, he said.Munley had "lost a lot of blood," especially from a gunshot wound to her left leg that had hit an artery, McAninch said. He praised first responders for putting a tourniquet on her."That pretty much saved her life," McAninch said.




Analysis:

The Fort Hood shooting was a surprising and sad event that hap pend. Many were shot, 13 were killed. This has brought sadness to the Nation, Foot Hood was the largest U.S Army Base. The 13 people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, included a pregnant woman who was preparing to return home, a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military about a year ago, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who wanted to take on Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Sgt. Mark Todd and Sgt. Kimberly Munley were the two Sergent's that shot Hasan down. The Memorial Service will be held on November 10, 2009.





Metro:

Anti-Semitic graffiti prompts Irving church's show of support for Dallas restaurant owners

In a show of support, members of DFW New Beginnings church ate lunch Tuesday at Natalie's Kitchen, the far North Dallas restaurant that was vandalized on Halloween night.
Folks from the Irving church came by the dozens to support the restaurant owners after vandals painted anti-Semitic graffiti on the front of the family-run kosher restaurant Oct. 31.
"We wanted to do something to show that we are very much against hatred in any way," said Pastor Larry Huch.
The Dallas Police Department's North Central Patrol Investigative Unit is handling the case as a criminal mischief/hate crime. That investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been announced.
On Tuesday, restaurant owner Natalie Pinhas said she was overwhelmed by the response from the church.
"I think it's wonderful," she said. "We don't have room. It's all packed."
Huch said the church wanted to do something visible, not just for Pinhas and the restaurant but also to demonstrate their love for Israel and the Jewish people.
"Racial and religious hatred has to stop, and this is just a small way of us making a stand and saying we've got to start loving one another," Huch said.

Analysis:

Why is there so much hate in the world? This report really bothers me because it tells me that when I wake up, I am waking up to a world that hates itself and others. This article is about a church group that goes and supports a small restaurant, only because it was vandalized with graffiti on it. What's even worse, it was on Halloween night, with means that it was a trick not a treat. If people do not have anything better to do then, they have no life. No one deserves to clean up a mess they didn't do. So for all those who vandalize, get a life, no one cares about your gangs. Its sad, and your sad.

Sports:

Shaquille O’Neal, wife splitting up

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Shaquille O’Neal’s(notes) wife is splitting up with the Cleveland Cavaliers center.
Va’Shaundya O’Neal filed for legal separation with intent to divorce Monday in Los Angeles. She cited irreconcilable differences.
She is seeking spousal and child support and full legal custody of the couple’s four children. No monetary amounts were listed in the court filing.
The O’Neals were married six years, 11 months.
Shaquille O’Neal is a 15-time All-Star center with four NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. He was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Cleveland Cavaliers in June.





Analysis:

Why is this even on the sport section? He isn't the best, good that his wife is leaving him. There's other money in the world sweetie! If she was able to get Shaquille O'Neal, she can get anyone. But if he really cares abut his kids and doesn't care about the money, he will try to get custody or at least a half and half thing. If he's all about the money, I hope she takes it all.