Tropical Storm Lisa forms in Caribbean Sea — will it be a hurricane?
Tropical Storm Lisa formed in the Caribbean Sea on Monday and is forecast to become a hurricane before making landfall in Central America this week.
Lisa is the 12th named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season and is not a threat to Florida. The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring a disturbance in the central Atlantic that has a low chance of development.
The storm was about 185 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 360 miles southeast of Grand Cayman, as of the hurricane center’s 2 p.m. Eastern time advisory Monday. The system is forecast to pass to the south of Jamaica on Monday and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday.
Forecasters expect Jamaica, which is under a tropical storm watch, will likely feel tropical storm conditions Monday. The tropical storm watch for the Cayman Islands was discontinued at 11 a.m. Monday.
The hurricane center expects Lisa will continue strengthening as it moves west to west-northwest at 14 mph over the Caribbean’s warm waters. The forecast shows it turning into a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph Wednesday before making landfall in Central America, possibly in Belize.
The system is moving east-northeast over the Atlantic, keeping it away from the United States.
—Miami Herald
International Criminal Court to resume Afghanistan prosecutions
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The prosecution of crimes committed in Afghanistan is set to resume in the International Criminal Court in The Hague after a key ruling Monday.
Chief prosecutor Karim Khan plans to investigate the hard-line Islamist Taliban as well as the terrorist group Islamic State first.
The possible war crimes involved include attacks on the civilian population, illegal executions, persecution of women and girls, and crimes against children.
Monday's ruling came after Afghanistan — now governed by the Taliban — said that it wanted to take over the prosecution of such crimes itself.
The court prosecutors objected to this and the judges accepted their objection.
"The judges considered that Afghanistan is not presently carrying out genuine investigations in a manner that would justify a deferral of the court’s investigations and that Afghanistan authorities are not showing an interest to pursue the deferral request it submitted on March 26, 2020," the court said in a press release.
The ICC is a so-called complementary court that only intervenes if the national judiciary is unwilling or unable to do so.
—dpa
Carbon dioxide leak at LAX sickens 4 workers, including 1 severely
LOS ANGELES — A carbon dioxide leak at Los Angeles International Airport left four workers sick Monday morning, including one man in critical condition, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The LAFD said workers in a utility room about 200 feet from the Terminal 8 Baggage Area heard a "popping sound" around 7 a.m., which coincided with the release of the carbon dioxide vapor. A hazardous materials team was dispatched to the airport to investigate the situation.
Three men and one woman were sickened, the LAFD said. A 50-year-old man was in grave condition — not breathing and without a pulse when first responders arrived. First responders performed CPR on the man and he was taken to an area hospital where his pulse was revived. His condition was updated from grave to critical, according to the LAFD.
It was not immediately clear if the workers were LAX employees.
Airport officials moved about 100 people from Terminal 8 to Terminal 7, the LAFD said.
Trace amounts of the gas remained in the utility room around 9 a.m. Monday, Humphrey said.
—Los Angeles Times
Bidens visit NYC to attend memorial service for Blinken’s father
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in New York City on Monday morning to attend a memorial service for the late father of Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Bidens arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan for the 90-minute event honoring the life of Donald Blinken, a former banker, arts philanthropist and U.S. Ambassador to Hungary.
Donald Blinken died in his East Hampton home on Sept. 22 at 96.
Antony Blinken credited his late father with inspiring him to enter a career in politics and diplomacy, especially after Donald was appointed ambassador to Hungary by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
The Bidens arrived at the closed service around 11 a.m. and left around 12:30 pm for a flight back to Washington, D.C.
Before Donald Blinken became ambassador, according to The New York Times, his government postings included membership in a judicial nominating panel named by President Jimmy Carter and appointments to the State University of New York’s board by Gov. Hugh L. Carey and Gov. Mario M. Cuomo.
Donald Blinken is survived by his son; his wife; his brother, Alan; and two grandchildren.
