MIAMI (AP) — A new tropical storm has formed in the northern Atlantic Ocean but does not appear to pose a threat to land.
Tropical Storm Fay, which formed early Sunday, was located about 450 miles (730 kilometers) southwest of the Azores. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Fay will likely dissipate by the end of the week.
Separately, Tropical Storm Odalys has formed southwest of Mexico's west coast and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Monday.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm's center is about 1,245 miles (2,005 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). It was moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kph).
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect for either tropical storm.
Fay's maximum sustained winds were clocked at 45 mph (75 kph) at 5 a.m. EDT. Additional strengthening is expected in the short term. It was moving north-northeast at 5 mph (7 kph). The Azores are an autonomous region of Portugal about 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) off the coast of mainland Portugal.
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Fay, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Odalys, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he plans to stay in office after his party's losses in two state elections on Sunday, and again doubled down on the government’s plans for potentially painful reforms to Europe’s biggest economy.
Exit polls by public broadcaster ARD on Sunday night indicated that Metz's center-right Christian Democratic Union came in with just 5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania -- the lowest result ever since World War II for the party in any state.
Merz acknowledged the CDU’s result as a “disaster” but struck a defiant note, rejecting any retreat from his government’s reform agenda. He argued that Germany’s economic and political problems made difficult and potentially unpopular reforms more urgent, not less, and pledged to press ahead with “backbone, steadfastness and patience.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
BERLIN (AP) — Exit polls showed Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party suffering heavy losses in two German state elections on Sunday, increasing pressure on a leader who has struggled to deliver on promises to revive Europe’s biggest economy and curb the ascent of the far-right AfD party.
Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union is projected to fall to 5.5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a largely rural state in Germany’s formerly communist east. That would be its worst result there since World War II.
In Berlin, the CDU is projected to come in second with 20%, behind the Left party at 24.5%, according to the exit poll by public broadcaster ARD.
The anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany party made significant gains in both elections Sunday. The vote came two weeks after AfD finished just short of a majority in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, and has its best chance yet of forming the country’s first far-right regional government since World War II.
Merz’s authority was severely damaged by his party’s stinging defeat in the Sept. 6 election by AfD — a result that shocked many Germans who had believed their country had developed an immunity to nationalism and assertions of racial superiority after confronting the horrors of its Nazi past through education and laws to outlaw persecution.
Merz, 70, became Germany’s leader 16 months ago with promises to turn around an economy that has barely grown in years, but has failed to lift a sullen national mood and has himself become deeply unpopular.
The strong showing of AfD in the Saxony-Anhalt election has further weakened the chancellor's standing on the national level as well, and in the past two weeks there have been calls even from within his own party to replace him as chancellor. No top-level allies have called publicly for his departure, and many have warned against “personnel debates.”
Apparently anticipating a tough postelection period, Merz abandoned a planned trip to New York next week to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Despite the strong headwinds, he has repeatedly said that he’s determined to stay on and finish his term as chancellor.
Voters sit at a voting booth in Schwerin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, as the vote for the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state election, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (Philip Dulian/dpa via AP)
A man casts his vote at a polling station during the Berlin state election in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Social Democratic Party Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the party's top candidate for the upcoming state election Manuela Schwesig poses in front of an election campaign poster reading "The Woman Against Blue", in Schwerin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. ( Jens Buettner/dpa via AP)
Leif-Erik Holm, the AfD's candidate for state premier in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, speaks at the campaign's closing rally in Neubrandenburg, Germany, on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Philip Dulian/dpa via AP)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrives for the Cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
