Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Tropical Storm Fausto forms off Mexico's Pacific as tropical depression swirls in Gulf of Mexico

News

Tropical Storm Fausto forms off Mexico's Pacific as tropical depression swirls in Gulf of Mexico
News

News

Tropical Storm Fausto forms off Mexico's Pacific as tropical depression swirls in Gulf of Mexico

2026-07-20 07:02 Last Updated At:07:11

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Fausto formed Sunday well off Mexico's southwest Pacific coast, while a tropical depression meandering in warm Gulf of Mexico waters south of the Florida Panhandle was threatening to strengthen into a named storm.

Fausto emerged from a tropical depression about 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) south-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and was expected to undergo steady or rapid strengthening and become a hurricane by Monday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving to the west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph). No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

Also in the eastern Pacific, Tropical Storm Elida was weakening Sunday and expected to become a remnant low within a couple of days. Elida was centered Sunday about 1,015 miles (1,635 kilometers) west of the southern Baja peninsula and had top sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph).

Meanwhile, forecasters at the Miami-based hurricane center said they were closely watching the evolution of a tropical depression fueled by warm waters south-southeast of the Florida Panhandle.

Forecasters said the depression was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm early in the week. A tropical storm watch was issued for parts of the Florida Panhandle to the Alabama border. The slow-moving storm is expected to move near or along the northern Gulf Coast during the next several days.

The system could bring heavy rainfall to coastal areas of northern Florida, Alabama and Louisiana as it eventually churns west toward Texas, the hurricane center said.

On Sunday afternoon, the depression was virtually stationary and located about 190 miles (310 kilometers) south-southeast of Panama City, Florida, with top sustained winds of 30 mph (45 kph).

This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to warn that “every time Iran kills an American Soldier” going forward “they will pay for that killing many times over.” Trump offered no further details but said his directive has been relayed to U.S. military leaders.

The warning comes after the U.S., early Monday, launched its ninth night of airstrikes on Iran after announcing the death of another American service member killed in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. The U.S. military also identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan on Friday while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Seventeen U.S. troops have been killed since the start of the war.

The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the U.S. target Iranian bridges, electrical facilities and, as of Monday, the city believed to host its underground missile bases, as the countries inch closer to a return to full-scale war. Iran on Monday retaliated with attacks on American allies Kuwait and Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The Latest:

Jordan’s armed forces said Monday evening they had shot down three Iranian missiles, adding that there had been no material damage or casualties.

There was no immediate word from Iran.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will be at Dover Air Force Base on Tuesday evening for the dignified transfer of U.S. service members.

“The President and the entire White House are praying for their families,” Leavitt said on social media Monday.

Two service members were killed Friday in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, the U.S. military said. A third service member was missing after the attack.

Another American service member was killed Saturday in northern Iraq in what was described as a controlled detonation of an Iranian ordnance.

The president offered the assurance to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told the New York Times that the Israeli prime minister “belongs in The Hague” and that he was in “active conversation” with the city’s legal department about potentially arresting him if he comes to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly in September.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump said in a social media post in which he made no direct mention of Mamdani.

During his mayoral campaign last year, Mamdani said he would order the city’s police to arrest Netanyahu under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over Netanyahu’s role in the war in Gaza.

The president took to social media on Monday to warn that “every time Iran kills an American Soldier” going forward “they will pay for that killing many times over.”

Trump offered no further details but said his directive has been relayed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other U.S. military leaders.

Trump’s warning came after the U.S. earlier Monday launched its ninth night of airstrikes on Iran after announcing the death of a U.S. service member, killed in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. Seventeen American troops have been killed since the start of the war.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Monday evening that a second ship had been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, this one off the coast of the United Arab Emirates

Earlier, a vessel caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile near the coastline of Oman. The crew abandoned the vessel, which was adrift and still ablaze hours later, the UKMTO said.

The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. The Guard later claimed it was targeting tankers in the strait.

Tehran also hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Monday morning, while Kuwait said its air defenses were firing at an incoming Iranian barrage.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country’s air traffic systems, saying they endanger travel for civilians.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told a news conference Monday he is frustrated with Trump’s threats to place tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke.

Ford said Ontario has contributed to fighting fires in the U.S. and offered assistance when Georgia was struck with a hurricane in 2024.

“Rather than criticize and threaten Canada, your closest friend, maybe one day you’re going to need our help,” Ford said. “I get frustrated just listening (to) that bunch of rubbish.”

Ford noted one of the largest fires started in Minnesota.

“Maybe President Trump would offer his closest allies and friends some support rather than sit there and threaten tariffs.”

Nearly 200 wildfires are currently burning across Northern Ontario, with 57 out of control.

Trump said he told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney he needs to do more to stop wildfires when they talked during Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey.

“I told them you got to stop these fires from coming in and poisoning our air. Our air has been poisoned,” Trump told reporters on Sunday when he returned from the game.

“If we can help them, we’ll help them. But maybe they should pay us some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs.”

Trump last week accused Canada of neglecting forest management. It is unclear under what authority Trump would rely on to impose new tariffs on Canada.

The Democrat from Georgia is making full-throated broadsides against Trump as he runs for reelection, calling the president a “national disgrace” leading a “Mar-a-Lago mafia” and “the most corrupt administration of all time.”

The 39-year-old senator’s approach is being noticed across the Democratic spectrum, from activists hungry for the right message in the 2026 midterms to those pining for viable presidential candidates.

And now he has a 20-1 fundraising advantage against Rep. Mike Collins, who won a Republican primary runoff after Trump’s last-minute endorsement. Collins argues that Ossoff is “weak” and “woke,” just another “out-of-touch, far-left liberal.”

“The senator is definitely having a moment,” Democratic strategist Lis Smith said, adding that tying Trump’s personal financial gain to his performance on the economy is a strategy “more Democrats should adopt.”

The Justice Department has filed a first-ever petition to a secretive and dormant court created 30 years ago to weigh government requests to deport so-called “alien terrorists” from the United States.

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996 but had never received a petition until the Justice Department filed an application last week seeking the removal of an individual whose name is withheld from the single-page document posted on the court’s website.

A written response from the chief judge of the five-member court — all appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts — indicates that a hearing was held and that the Justice Department was directed to provide more information on Wednesday.

The chief judge of wrote that “the Government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration.”

Trump complained that a report on climate change National Academy of Sciences included “discredited” information that created “huge losses” across the country. The report is used by the Federal Judicial Center as a resource to assist judges in considering scientific evidence.

Trump ordered “federal suspension and debarment officials” to review the research organization’s conduct, adding that taxpayers should not be funding ″climate fraud” and judges should not rely on the report.

It was not clear what officials Trump was referring to and what, exactly, he wants them to investigate.

Earlier this year, the judicial center withdrew a chapter on climate change from the newest reference manual on scientific evidence after Republican state attorneys general complained it was biased against fossil fuel companies.

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, are celebrating the birth of their fourth child.

Born Sunday, Alec Neel Vance joins older siblings Ewan, 9; Vivek, 6; and Mirabel, 4. The Vances said Usha and the baby are happy and healthy. They also thanked the doctors and staff at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the White House medical team.

The Republican vice president has passionately advocated for Americans to have more children. He repeatedly expressed alarm about declining birth rates as he launched his political career in 2021, and told the 2025 March for Life anti-abortion rally, “I want more babies in the United States of America.”

Trump and his White House have enthusiastically promoted the Freedom Fuel Network, a chain of star-spangled convenience stores selling gas at $3.47 per gallon to honor the 47th president.

Untangling exactly who is behind the Philadelphia-area venture has proven difficult. Records indicate the chain was launched last month by a collection of businessmen including an NFL kicking coach, a GOP fundraiser and a New Jersey entrepreneur who was ordered along with his brother to pay civil damages for unlawfully taking more than 200,000 gallons of fuel.

None of them want to talk about it. How the stations got Trump’s attention remains a mystery. Experts say they’re likely selling the gas for a loss.

What is clear: Trump has loved the idea of cheaper gas with average costs per gallon rising above $4 again as the war with Iran continues.

▶ Read more

David Hearn, 67, has pleaded not guilty to deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool amid a troubled multimillion-dollar renovation project championed by Trump.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman set the date for Sept. 28 during a Monday hearing, Hearn’s second since a grand jury indicted him on a single felony count of property destruction.

Trump has claimed without providing evidence that damage to the pool’s lining was caused by vandals.

David Hearn, 67, a canoeist who competed in three Summer Olympics, told The Associated Press that he reached into the water to see what the peeling new coating felt like — “very rubbery” — and let go of it when a park worker told him to. At least three others have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of the paint.

The avid Trump supporters are currently being held in federal detention, where bail is rarely granted in international extradition cases. Their lawyer said he expects they’ll remain jailed for now.

A U.S. district judge will consider whether they meet conditions for extradition, but the ultimate decision falls to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The State Department has some discretion to deny, but it has granted nearly every British request since ratifying a strengthened extradition treaty in 2007.

The Tates flew to Florida on a private jet last year despite a U.K. extradition request from Romania, where they also face charges. Romania’s foreign minister said at the time that a Trump administration official had expressed interest in the brothers’ legal case.

Trump said he knew “nothing about” the case when asked if his administration had pressured Romania to release the Tates.

▶ Read more

Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate are scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Miami on Monday after they were arrested to face rape and sex trafficking charges in the United Kingdom.

Their attorney Joseph McBride said the charges are “filth and slander” and that he’s confident the extradition request would be denied.

He also said he believed the arrests were “greenlighted by a low-level functionary” at the Justice Department, without input from leadership. But the Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by leadership of its Criminal Division.

The Tates’ social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities.

▶ Read more

There were few details, but the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said on X that the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to Saudi vessels in response to what he called Saudi Arabia’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years.”

The Houthis are key to Iran’s regional influence and they have a large stockpile of drones, but several Houthi members previously told the AP that the group’s weapons stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iran war has further impeded the flow of weapons, said the officials, who at the time spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.

Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Monday afternoon to warn of a possible Iranian fire, while Kuwait said its air defenses were responding to incoming Iranian missiles and drones. No damage was immediately reported in either country.

Dozens of Democratic senators and Maine’s Independent Sen. Angus King want more details on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s vetting practices and vehicle pursuit policies following more deaths in ICE shootings.

In a letter spearheaded by King and sent to the Department of Homeland Security, the senators listed new measures to increase accountability at the agency tasked with carrying out immigration enforcement.

They said ICE should immediately start wearing uniforms or vests that clearly identify them as “ICE” instead of the more generic “POLICE” or “POLICE ICE.”

The senators also want to know whether ICE considers records of domestic violence or abuse when vetting new recruits. In Maine, the AP reported that the ICE officer who opened fire and killed a man from Colombia had a history of violent behavior detailed in family court records.

Defaults are reaching record levels as borrowers struggle to pay.

The numbers have spiked since payments came due again following a lengthy pause intended to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, around 9.5 million people — 1 in 5 federal student loan borrowers — are in default, meaning their wages or Social Security payments could be garnished. The Trump administration has held off on such involuntary collections for now.

And still another wave of defaults could be coming. The Trump administration eliminated the most generous income-driven repayment plan, Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, as part of its overhaul of the federal student loan system. Millions who had been enrolled in SAVE now must pay more each month.

▶ Read more

A Houthi military spokesperson described the embargo on Monday, effective immediately, as an “eye for an eye” response.

Attacks by the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen last week damaged Sanaa International Airport and Abha airport in Saudi Arabia, threatening a truce that began in 2022.

Imposing an embargo could put new pressure on Saudi Arabia, which is sending oil through pipes to the Red Sea as a way of avoiding the chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz.

Houthis attacked more than 100 ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. It’s unclear whether the Houthis will keep up that level of attack now against Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said Monday’s strikes targeted “Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks.”

Iranian authorities on Sunday said at least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the latest rounds of U.S. strikes. Since the war began on Feb. 28, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.

The U.S. military said the latest service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone.

“We hit them very hard again tonight,” Trump said. “And we did that in honor” of the soldiers killed.

As the strikes began, a vessel caught fire early Monday in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile near the coastline of Oman, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The crew abandoned the vessel, which was adrift and still ablaze hours later, the UKMTO said.

The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. The Guard later claimed it was targeting tankers in the strait.

The United States targeted Iran with a new round of airstrikes early Monday after announcing the death of another American service member, hitting areas around a city believed to house underground missile bases. Iran responded by attacking Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait.

Step by step, the U.S. and Iran have inched closer to all-out war. Last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

Meanwhile, benchmark Brent crude rose Monday above $90 a barrel, further fueling a global energy crisis sparked by the conflict. An average gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. rose to $4, putting more pressure on American wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall.

▶ Read more

Spain players, from left, cheer alongside President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the conclusion of the World Cup championship final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Spain players, from left, cheer alongside President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the conclusion of the World Cup championship final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Vehicles drive past a monument depicting the clenched fist of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. and Israel strike on Feb. 28, in Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Vehicles drive past a monument depicting the clenched fist of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. and Israel strike on Feb. 28, in Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An overturned car sits on a section of a destroyed bridge after a strike in Hormozgan province, southern Iran, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Mahdi Negahban/Mehr News Agency via AP)

An overturned car sits on a section of a destroyed bridge after a strike in Hormozgan province, southern Iran, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Mahdi Negahban/Mehr News Agency via AP)

Spain players, from left, cheer alongside President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the conclusion of the World Cup championship final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Spain players, from left, cheer alongside President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the conclusion of the World Cup championship final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Recommended Articles