MIAMI (AP) — Two tropical cyclones in the eastern Pacific Ocean gained strength Tuesday as they churned at sea, with one expected to bring heavy rain to Baja California, forecasters said.
Tropical Storm Lorena was expected to be a hurricane off the western coast of Mexico, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Lorena was centered Tuesday about 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The tropical storm had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) and was moving northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), forecasters said.
Interests in southwestern Mexico and the Baja California peninsula were urged to monitor the progress of the storm. A tropical storm watch was issued for Cabo San Lucas northward to Cabo San Lázaro.
The forecast called for strong wind and rainfall totals up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) across parts of Baja California Sur and southwestern Sonora state through Friday. The weather service warned rain totals could fluctuate depending on the track of the storm, and flash flooding was possible.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Kiko intensified with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (169 kph) as it traveled west over open waters about 1,740 miles (2,800 kilometers) east of Hilo, Hawaii, the hurricane center said.
Kiko was a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which ranges from 1 to 5. Cyclones that are Category 3 or higher are considered “major” hurricanes.
No watches or warnings were associated with Kiko, and there were no hazards affecting land, forecasters said. Steady strengthening was expected during the next couple of days, and Kiko could be a major hurricane by Wednesday.
This GOES-19 GeoColor satellite image taken Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025 at 6 p.m. EDT and provided by NOAA, shows Tropical Storm Lorena, upper right, off Mexico's western coast, and Hurricane Kiko, left, in open waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. (NOAA via AP)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.
Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.
She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.
The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.
On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.
Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.
The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.
American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.
For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.
Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”
Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.
Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
