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https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/earliest-humans-stayed-americas-oldest-hotel-mexican-cave "Dr Ardelean said: “We don’t know who they were, where they came from or where they went. They are a complete enigma. We falsely assume that the indigenous populations in the Americas today are direct descendants from the earliest Americans, but now we do not think that is the case."

Tegucigalpa, Honduras: A failure in Central America's electrical grid has left millions of people without power for hours in at least four countries. Honduras is the country hardest hit by Monday's blackout, with the entirety of its territory and its more than 9 million inhabitants affected. Leonardo Deras of the state electric company said at a news conference that the problem arose from an overload at a substation on the Caribbean coast. Salvador Mansell is president of the company responsible for power transmission in Nicaragua. He said the blackout hit the capital, Managua, and the main departments. There are about 600,000 paying customers for electricity in Nicaragua. Internet service and water distribution in parts of the capital were also knocked out. https://www.smh.com.au/world/central-america/blackout-hits-4-nations-in-central-america-millions-left-in-dark-20190917-p52s0x.html

via .ORGWorld News

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Torrential rain in Central America that caused floods and landslides have killed 12 people in just a few days, rescue and emergency authorities across the region said on Sunday. Heavy rains that began on Thursday have battered countries from Guatemala to Costa Rica, and prompted a landslide in Honduras that killed two children and their mother while they were sleeping. The rain destroyed houses and crops and forced thousands to leave their homes for temporary shelters. Six people were killed in Honduras and 7,000 evacuated their homes, local authorities said. In Nicaragua, the government said 23,000 people were affected and that a fisherman was killed after his boat overturned. Two others drowned in a river. Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-centam-rain/heavy-rains-across-central-america-leave-12-dead-idUSKCN1MH11N

(CNN)After a difficult, monthlong journey from Central America to the US-Mexico border, dozens of asylum-seeking migrants are vowing to remain outside an immigration processing center until "every last one" is admitted into the country, an organizer with the caravan said late Sunday. Earlier, the migrants marched from Friendship Park in Tijuana, Mexico to the San Ysidro port of entry. They stood on the Mexican side; on the other side lay San Diego, California. It was the final leg for some in the caravan of hundreds of migrants, which had reached Tijuana on Tuesday. Alex Mensing, an organizer with Pueblo Sin Fronteras, which assembled the caravan, said 50 migrants were admitted to the immigration processing center. He said the migrants' decision to not return to a nearby shelter overnight was made in solidarity with the asylum seekers who are inside the facility. But the migrants' fate is uncertain. Before the group arrived, US Customs and Border Patrol officials said the port had already reached full capacity, and migrants trying to get into the United States may need to wait in Mexico as officials process those already in the facility. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/29/americas/migrant-caravan-us-border-crossing/index.html

A tropical storm that killed at least 22 people in Central America is now forecast to strengthen into a hurricane over the weekend before roaring ashore in New Orleans. Hurricane watches and warnings were already in effect for coastal areas of four southeastern U.S. states, including metropolitan New Orleans, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical storm warnings have extended into central Alabama, Mississippi, northern Georgia -- including Atlanta -- and the western panhandle of Florida. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency on Thursday as the state braces for a direct hit. Edwards mobilized 1,300 National Guard troops, with 15 going to New Orleans to monitor the troubled pump and drainage system there. In a press conference Friday afternoon, Edwards instructed Louisianans in affected areas to gather supplies now and be positioned to hunker down by 8 p.m. Saturday. Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/tropical-storm-nate-pounds-central-america-set-hit/story?id=50323890

Tropical Storm Otto is nearing hurricane strength in the southwest Caribbean Sea, and is forecast to be an extremely rare late November hurricane landfall, posing a danger of flooding and mudslides in parts of Central America. A hurricane watch was issued Tuesday morning for Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua. This means that hurricnae conditions are possible here within 48 hours. In addition, a tropical storm warning was issued in Panama from Nargana to Colon, where tropical storm conditions are expected beginning Tuesday. A tropical storm watch is also in effect from west of Colon, Panama to Costa Rica. A tropical storm watch was issued Monday night for San Andres Island, a Colombian island in the Caribbean Sea located about 125 miles east of the Nicaragua coast. This means tropical storm conditions are possible there within 48 hours. Tropical Storm Otto continues to march in place, located just over 200 miles southeast of San Andres Island, or about 330 miles east-southeast of Bluefields, Nicaragua, as of Tuesday morning. Otto is finally expected to begin to drift westward later Tuesday followed by a faster motion toward the west-northwest or west by Wednesday, as clockwise steering flow around high pressure building to its north will send this system westward toward the coast of Nicaragua or Costa Rica. Projected Path The red-shaded area denotes the potential path of the center of the tropical cyclone. Note that impacts (particularly heavy rain, high surf, coastal flooding) with any tropical cyclone may spread beyond its forecast path. Tropical storm force winds currently extend out to about 70 miles from the center of circulation, making Otto a relatively small tropical cyclone. Wind shear is expected to be weak to moderate over the next few days, and small tropical cyclones can also intensify quickly, particularly given heat content in the southwest Caribbean Sea is well above average for this time of year. Given all this, Otto will intensify, becoming a rare, late-season hurricane before making landfall in Nicaragua or Costa Rica on Thanksgiving Day. Heavy rain, flash flooding and mudslides will be major concerns for Central America, including Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Some locations may pick up over 10 inches of rain from Otto. In addition, areas of heavy rain well to the north of the circulation may trigger flooding in parts of Honduras and Belize. Any wind and storm surge impact will depend on the strength of the system as it moves inland, which remains somewhat uncertain at this time. Otto is expected to weaken soon after making landfall, as the circulation is hampered by the higher terrain of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. However, there is some potential for the circulation to survive in some form once it emerges into the eastern Pacific Ocean. Atlantic tropical cyclones crossing into the eastern Pacific Basin have happened numerous times in the past. How Unusual is a Named Storm This Late in the Hurricane Season? November Atlantic Basin tropical cyclones aren't all that unusual. In November, tropical cyclones typically form where the waters are warmest. Thus, one cluster of storms forming in November is in the western Caribbean Sea. A second broad area of formation is in a broad swath of the western and central Atlantic Ocean, sometimes spinning off from an old frontal boundary, sometimes transitioning from a cold-core low to a subtropical or tropical cyclone. https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-storm-hurricane-otto-caribbean-central-america-forecast