COLU @ CONCEPTS

MARIGOT, St. Martin (AP) — The French government on Sunday defended its hurricane preparations for the hard-hit Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barts, rejecting criticism by political opponents and by islanders who felt abandoned as their homes and towns were devastated. French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would be traveling to St. Martin on Tuesday on an Airbus carrying aid supplies to show that Paris is committed to both helping and rebuilding its far-away territories pummeled by Hurricane Irma. Some Caribbean officials said Britain was also too slow in responding to destruction on the British Virgin Islands and the Dutch government faced criticism for not acting more quickly to evacuate tourists stranded on St. Maarten, the Dutch side of St. Martin. The Dutch king is also heading to the region. The hurricane killed at least nine people on St. Martin as it hit Wednesday, destroying a huge number of houses, cars and boats and cutting off all water and el

SHEHYNI, Ukraine (AP) — Mikheil Saakashvili and a small crowd of supporters shoved their way through a line of guards at the Ukrainian border Sunday, making good on the politician’s vow to return to the land that had stripped him of citizenship. The return of the divisive and headstrong Saakashvili, who became governor of Ukraine’s Odessa region after being Georgian president from 2004-13, poses a strong challenge to Ukrainian Petro Poroshenko, who once was Saakashvili’s patron but then revoked his citizenship in July. Saakashvili was appointed to the Odessa post in 2015 on the strength of his record of fighting corruption in Georgia. However he resigned the post after only 18 months, complaining that official corruption in Ukraine was so entrenched he could not work effectively. The return carries risks for Saakashvili, who is stateless. Georgia, where he faces accusations of abuse of power and misappropriation of property, has sent an extradition request for him to Ukrai

HAVANA (AP) — Powerful waves and storm surge from Hurricane Irma topped Havana’s iconic Malecon seawall and left thousands of homes, businesses and hotels swamped Sunday, even as the storm moved away from the island. There were no immediate reports of fatalities in Cuba, where the government prides itself on disaster preparedness and said it had evacuated more than 1 million people. Authorities warned that the floodwaters could linger for more than a day, and there was as-yet uncalculated damage to sugarcane and banana fields in central Cuba and to northern cays studded with all-inclusive resorts, potentially dealing a major blow to the country’s key tourism industry. The storm ripped roofs off homes, collapsed buildings and caused floods along hundreds of miles of coast after cutting a trail of destruction across the Caribbean. Irma has killed at least 24 people in the region, leaving officials scrambling to bring aid to shattered communities. In Havana, home to s

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — As Irma marches up Florida’s Gulf Coast toward Tampa Bay, residents fear what the storm will do to an area that hasn’t taken a direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921. From punishing winds to catastrophic storm surge, the area is bracing for devastation. Vulnerable structures range from the towering Sunshine Skyway Bridge to toxic waste sites from the state’s phosphorous mining industry. A 2013 World Bank study that ranked cities according to their vulnerability to major storms placed Tampa at number seven — among all cities in the world. “We’re going to be inundated with unprecedented amounts of water,” Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said Sunday. “It’s going to stress our storm water and sewer capacity. There’s going to be overflows. There’s no two ways around it.” Irma arrived as a Category 4 storm but had fallen to a Category 2 with 110 mph (177 kph) winds by late Sunday afternoon and was continuing to weaken as it marched up Florida’s Gulf Co

NEW YORK (AP) — Rafael Nadal entered the 2017 Grand Slam season on a 2½-year drought without so much as one appearance in a major final, let alone a title. He ends it having reasserted himself, capped by a U.S. Open final that shaped up as quite a mismatch — and turned out to be exactly that. His game at a higher level than it needed to be by the end of an unusually easy path through the field, Nadal overwhelmed Kevin Anderson  6-3, 6-3, 6-4  on Sunday to win his third championship at Flushing Meadows. “Of course, after a couple of years without competing at this very high, high level,” Nadal said, “very happy to be back.” The No. 1-ranked Nadal collected his 16th Grand Slam trophy overall and at his news conference, he wore a white  T-shirt listing the date and site  of each one. Among men, only Roger Federer has more, with 19. Each of those two longtime rivals won two of the four majors this season, marking their return to the heights of their sport. Nadal has dealt wi

TOKYO (AP) — North Korea says it will make the United States pay a heavy price if a proposal Washington is backing to impose the toughest sanctions ever on Pyongyang is approved by the U.N. Security Council this week. The North’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement early Monday saying it is watching the United States’ moves closely and threatened it is “ready and willing” to respond with measures of its own. The United States has called for a vote Monday, New York time, on new U.N. sanctions against North Korea. Last Tuesday, the U.S. circulated a draft resolution proposing the toughest-ever U.N. sanctions on North Korea, including a ban on all oil and natural gas exports to the country and a freeze on all foreign financial assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un. Security Council diplomats, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly because talks have been private, said the U.S. and China were still negotiating the text late Sunday. Previous U.N. sanctions

Before crashing into Florida, Hurricane Irma set all sorts of records for brute strength as it flattened Caribbean islands and swamped the Florida Keys. Irma’s assault — so soon after Harvey’s deluge of Houston — marked the first time the U.S. was hit by two Category 4 storms in the same year. Irma hit the Sunshine State as a big wide beast, though not quite the monster it once was shaping up to be. Earlier, it was the most powerful recorded storm in the open Atlantic. But as the once-Category 5 storm neared the U.S. mainland, it lost some oomph after running into the northern coast of Cuba. Winds dropped to a quite potent 115 mph (185 kph) by the time Irma made landfall on Marco Island, on the Florida peninsula, still a major and dangerous hurricane yet not near its 185 mph (297 kph) former self when it set a record Tuesday for the most powerful storm in the open Atlantic. And on top of that, Irma avoided what could have been its most destructive paths along the Florida pen

JUCHITAN, Mexico (AP) — Life for many has moved outdoors in the quake-shocked city of Juchitan, where a third of the homes are reported uninhabitable and repeated aftershocks have scared people away from many structures still standing. The city on Sunday was littered with rubble from Thursday night’s magnitude 8.1 earthquake, which killed at least 90 people across southern Mexico — at least three dozen of them in Juchitan itself. A family member laments the death of 64-year-old Reynalda Matus, as mourners prepare to bury her at the Miercoles Santo Cemetery in Juchitan, Oaxaca state, Mexico, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. Matus was killed when the pharmacy where she worked nights collapsed during Thursday’s massive earthquake. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Officials in Oaxaca and Chiapas states said thousands of houses and hundreds of schools had been damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people were reported to be without water service. Many people continued to sle

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The Latest on the Miss America competition (all times local): 11 p.m. Here she is: Miss North Dakota has been crowned Miss America 2018. Twenty-three-year-old Cara Mund bested a field of 51 competitors from each state and the District of Columbia during the weeklong event’s finale Sunday night in Atlantic City. Miss America 2017, Savvy Shields, former Miss Arkansas, placed the crown on her teary-eyed successor’s head as the new Miss America accepted applause and cheers from the audience and judges. The Bismarck, North Dakota, resident emerged victorious through a series of swimsuit and talent contests, onstage speeches and two rounds of interviews by judges. ___ 10: 54 p.m. The final five contestants have been selected in the Miss America competition. They are from: from Missouri; Texas; North Dakota; New Jersey; and District of Columbia . They were selected Sunday night during the scholarship pageant’s televised finale in Atlantic

PLANO, Texas (AP) — At least eight people are dead, including the suspect, after a shooting at a home in Plano, Texas, authorities in North Texas said Sunday night. The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. in the city less than 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) northeast of Dallas. Plano police spokesman David Tilley said police initially responded to a report of shots fired. When the first officer arrived and went inside the home, the officer confronted the suspected shooter. The officer opened fire, Tilley said, killing the suspect. Two others were injured in the shooting. Their conditions were not released. The victims and suspect have not been identified. All of those killed and injured were believed to be adults. Police also have not determined a motive for the shooting. Additional details were not immediately available. Tilley said that a shooting of this magnitude was unusual for Plano, especially in such a quiet neighborhood. He could not say whether police had been called

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Irma (all times local): 12:15 a.m. The National Hurricane Center says the core of Irma is now nearing Tampa in an area south of Lakeland — a community inland and to the east of the heavily populated Tampa Bay region. A hurricane center update at midnight said Irma remained a Category 2 hurricane with top sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) and was located about 25 miles (35 kilometers) south of Lakeland. The storm is moving north at 14 mph (22 kph). ___ 10:55 p.m. Hurricane Irma remains a dangerous Category 2 hurricane despite weakening a bit more to 100 mph (160 kph). It’s now bearing down on the Tampa-St. Petersburg region. The National Hurricane Center said Irma’s eye was about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Tampa near 11 p.m. Sunday and moving at a fast clip of 14 mph (22 kph). Still a large hurricane, its tropical storm force winds extend out 415 miles (665 kilometers). Forecasters say they expert