A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew braved poor visibility and frigid rapids to reach a car partly submerged in water near the brink of Niagara Falls, then lowered a rescue swimmer on a hoist who pulled out the woman trapped inside. She did not survive. Video from the harrowing rescue attempt showed Petty Officer 2nd…

PORT-AU-PRINCE—Nineteen Haitians died when a boat transporting them between the southern coastal settlements of Anse-a-Pitre and Marigot sank in the early hours of Saturday morning, Prime Minister Ariel Henry said on Twitter. Local media quoted a survivor identified as Marie Lucienne Pola as saying the boat, which was used for transporting gas, cement, food, and…

MEXICO CITY—Tropical Storm Nora is dropping heavy rains along the Gulf of California after weakening from a hurricane that set off floods and landslides on Mexico’s Pacific coast, caused havoc in Puerta Vallarta, and left at least one dead and seven missing. Nora weakened from a Category 1 hurricane at midday Sunday after making a…

VERACRUZ, Mexico—Hurricane Grace closed in on Mexico’s Gulf shore as a major Category 3 storm late Friday, drenching small fishing towns and beach resorts as it headed for its second landfall in the country in two days. The storm had lost power while crossing over the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, swirling through Mexico’s main tourist…

SYDNEY—Australian marine rescuers were working on Thursday to free a humpback whale entangled in a shark net off Queensland’s Gold Coast. Footage showed Sea World staff reaching out with blades at the end of long poles to try and cut a large mass of netting with orange buoys and yellow weights off the whale’s tail…

LIMA, Peru—A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook the north Pacific coast of Peru on Friday, sending people fleeing their homes, damaging a centuries old church and injuring at least one person. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake happened at 12:10 p.m. local time, with an epicenter about 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of the…

SAVANNAH, Ga.—Tropical Storm Elsa carved a destructive and soaking path up the East Coast after killing at least one person in Florida and spinning up a tornado at a Georgia Navy base that flipped recreational vehicles upside-down and blew one of them into a lake. Elsa’s winds strengthened slightly Thursday morning to 45 mph, and…

MIAMI—Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the central Gulf Coast as early as Friday and throughout the weekend. A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida—extending from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the Okaloosa-Walton County line in the Florida Panhandle,…

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—The City of Newport Beach has onboarded Paul Blank as its newest harbormaster, just in time for the busy summertime season. On average, more than 6.9 million visitors make their way annually to Newport’s beaches, bay and recreational harbor. In advance of Memorial Day weekend, Blank got right to work, partnering with the…

Prohibiting any new leasing for the exploration, development or production of oil or gas along the coast of Southern California is the subject of a new bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA). If passed, the American Coasts and Oceans Protection Act would prohibit offshore activities from San Diego to the northern border of…