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Mexico Will Crack Down on Central American Caravan Bound for US

By Jack Davis
Published January 17, 2020 at 8:10am

As yet another caravan of migrants begins its trek north, Mexico is vowing that this time, it will stop the migrants before they reach their goal of the U.S. border.

The BBC and The New York Times each estimated the group contained "hundreds" of migrants as it left Honduras on Tuesday and began to cross Guatemala.

Reuters estimated the caravan had 2,200 people.

Although the group was initially met with tear gas at the Honduras-Guatemala border, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said Wednesday his nation would allow Hondurans in the country if they had proper identification.

He warned, however, that Mexico would "do everything in their powers to stop" the group.

The comment came following a meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.

After pressure from President Donald Trump, Mexico has said it will tighten enforcement when it comes to migrant caravans heading for the U.S.

Mexican Interior Minister Olga Sánchez Cordero said Mexican officials would seek to assist Hondurans who want to remain in Mexico.

"Mexico is not only a transit country," she told reporters. "In no way we have transit visas or safe passage."

She said visas will not be issued to allow the migrants to move through Mexico.

"That's very clear," she said, according to Reuters.

Itsmania Platero, a freelance journalist and self-described "human right[s] defender," said the migrants will not clear Mexico.

"The truth is, it is going to be impossible for them to reach the United States," Platero told The Associated Press. "The Mexican police have a large contingent and they are going to catch all the migrants without documents and they will be detained and returned to their home countries."

Although the strategy of a massed caravan trying to cross the border is reminiscent of caravans that attempted to slam against the U.S. border in 2018 and 2019, Mark A. Morgan, acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said Tuesday a lot has changed in recent months, according to the Washington Examiner.

He said Trump's policy to work with Mexico and Central American nations is reducing the flow of illegal immigrants.

"This is not a political statement, it's because I believe it and because it is true: The success that I just outlined is absolutely a direct result of this president's strategies," he said.

"We are succeeding in addressing this crisis."

Also Tuesday, Morgan cited two statistics he said show Trump's policies are making a difference,

He said daily apprehensions, which hit 4,600 in May, are now down to about 1,300. The 21-day average for the number of apprehensions is now below 1,000, down 78 percent.

"That's a dramatic reduction," he said.

Hank Azaria Confirms He'll No Longer Voice Controversial Simpsons Character Apu
By Helen Murphy January 18, 2020 12:30 PM

...

In an interview on Friday, Azaria told Slashfilm, which was first to report the news, that he will no longer voice Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who has become a controversial character on the Fox television franchise. Throughout the longest-running scripted series, many argued that Apu perpetuates racial stereotypes and should not be voiced by a white actor.

"All we know there is I won't be doing the voice anymore, unless there's someway to transition it or something," Azaria, 55, told the outlet.

"What they're going to do with the character is their call," the actor said. "It's up to them and they haven't sorted it out yet. All we've agreed on is I won't do the voice anymore."

Azaria added: "We all made the decision together. We all agreed on it. We all feel like it's the right thing and good about it."

It was unclear from Azaria's comments what the decision will mean for the character of Apu on the show. Fox had no comment when reached by PEOPLE.

...

In April 2018, Azaria said during an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that he was willing to step away from the role.

"The idea that anybody, young or old, past or present, was bullied or teased based on the character of Apu, it just really makes me sad. It was certainly not my intention. I wanted to spread laughter and joy with this character, and the idea that it's brought pain and suffering in any way, that it was used to marginalize people, it's upsetting. Genuinely," the actor said.

"I am perfectly willing and happy to step aside or help transition it into something new," Azaria added. "I really hope that's what The Simpsons does. It not only makes sense, but it just feels like the right thing to do to me."

The crew of a Boeing 777 that showered schools outside Los Angeles with jet fuel on Tuesday apparently told controllers they were not going to release the toxic liquid right before they did so, newly released audio suggests.

An audio recording of communications between the LAX airport control tower and the pilots of the Delta flight reveals that air traffic controllers asked the crew twice if they needed to get rid of any excess fuel before making an emergency landing due to an issue with the aircraft's right engine.

At one point in the exchange - which was surprisingly calm given the circumstances - the controller can be heard asking the pilot if he was going back to the airport "immediately" or whether he needed to "hold and burn fuel."

At first, the pilot simply dodged the question, saying that the situation "is not critical" and that he was turning the aircraft back to the airport. As the controller pressed further, he asked one more time: "OK, so you don't need to hold to dump fuel or anything like that?" The pilot responded with a rather definitive 'No.' "NEGATIVE," he said.

The audio was obtained through LiveATC.ne, a site that provides a live feed of Air Traffic Control communications around the world, and was published in full by the Los Angeles Times.

It remains a mystery what transpired in the next 20 minutes that forced the pilot to make an about-face and jettison the fuel over heavily populated areas - home to multiple elementary schools - with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) now saying that the Delta Flight 89 failed to notify controllers of the move.

"A review of yesterday's air traffic control communications shows the Delta Flight 89 crew did not tell air traffic control that they needed to dump fuel," the US aviation watchdog said in a statement on Wednesday, noting that the dump "did not occur at an optimal altitude that would have allowed the fuel to atomize properly."

While FAA guidelines do not expressly prohibit dropping fuel at such a low altitude - about 2,300 feet at the time of the incident - air controllers typically direct crews to dump it over water or unpopulated terrain. It's standard practice for pilots to drop fuel at an altitude of over 10,000 feet, which ensures the substance evaporates on its way to the ground.

That the move was not per se illegal, however, will likely come as small comfort to dozens of schoolchildren caught off guard and drenched in the toxic downpour. The incident sowed panic on the ground, and led to about 60 people being treated for skin irritation and breathing issues. Some had to be decontaminated with soap and water.

In a statement on Wednesday, Delta, which argued that the fuel dump "was required as part of normal procedure to reach a safe landing weight," said it had sent "13 cleaning crews" to assist local authorities in cleansing all contaminated areas around the schools.

Filed on Friday by attorney Gloria Allred, the suit alleges that the crew of Delta Flight 89 was negligent in dumping the fuel when and where it did, arguing the toxic substance led teachers and students to become "sick, dizzy and nauseated," producing "a lasting and severe irritation and a lasting and noxious taste and smell."

"A Delta Airlines pilot flying at a relatively low altitude and through clear skies dumped massive amounts of toxic jet fuel onto teachers, the school where they worked, onto the children who were in their care, and onto the neighborhood below the jet airplane," Allred said at a press conference announcing the suit on Friday.

The crew of the Delta flight, which encountered an engine malfunction not long after taking off from LAX airport en route to Shanghai, has come under fire after audio surfaced on Thursday detailing the plane's communications with air traffic control. Asked whether he needed to "hold and burn fuel" before making an emergency landing, the Delta pilot gave a clear "negative." It remains unclear why the pilot decided to dump the fuel after that point.

"Our lawsuit alleges that the Delta pilot notified air traffic control personnel of the need for the aircraft to return to Los Angeles International Airport, but the pilot did not inform air traffic personnel of any need to dump fuel in order to lighten the plane for landing," despite being explicitly asked, Allred said.

The four teachers, who have each requested anonymity in the case, are employees of Park Avenue Elementary in Cudahy, a suburb of Los Angeles.

While none required emergency treatment, some 60 students and staff members from six different schools were injured in the bizarre mishap last Tuesday, with one of the Park Avenue teachers suffering "recurring symptoms" after the incident.

I thought, 'Oh my God, it must be a terrorist attack.' All I could do was think of making sure my students were safe and calm... because they were screaming and crying.