En sus previas cuatro apariciones, Romero registraba un grotesco promedio de efectividad de 45.00. En un inning -en dos de esas cuatro apariciones no pudo sacar un solo out – cedió cuatro hits, siete carreras, cinco de ellas limpias, tres pasaportes, dos jonrones y golpeó a un bateador. El zurdo también abanicó a dos.

“Este año fue un año diferente”, manifestó el boricua, explicando su mal desempeño en el arranque. “No sabía cómo lidiar con él”.

Romero se sometió a una cirugía en su codo de lanzar durante el invierno, que lo forzó a perderse el inicio de la temporada regular. El lanzador dijo que todos querían mostrarse cuidadosos y no utilizarlo demás en la loma. Parece que esa preocupación ya quedó atrás.

“Estoy al cien por ciento”, confirmó Romero. “Creo que todo volverá a la normalidad en cuanto a las veces que deseen utilizarme como lo hacían antes, pues ya me siento listo de lanzar regularmente”.

Romero lanzó en 20 de sus últimos 27 juegos de la temporada 2007. Tuvo una efectividad de 0.00 en 15 1/3 innings. Sus oponentes le batearon apenas .082 de promedio.

“Mi brazo se sintió muy bien”, dijo. “Queremos ganar la división. Recuerdo cuántas veces me preguntaron cómo se sentía mi brazo, les dije que podía descansar en Navidad”.

El boricua dijo que está listo para subir a la loma cada vez que lo necesiten.

“Creo que sí, definitivamente”, dijo. “He comenzado a sentirme más agresivo. Estoy tratando de lanzar como lo sé hacer y no apresurar las cosas ahí en la lomita”.

“I know it’s over for me,” Marlins veteran Wes Helms said. “I hope it is for these other guys.”

The two teams had a heated exchange on Wednesday night that featured fists flying and plenty of pushing and shoving.

The incident began when Nyjer Morgan charged Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad, triggering a bench-clearing scrap in the sixth inning of Florida’s 16-10 victory at Sun Life Stadium.

The teams went at it after Volstad, who plunked Morgan in the fourth inning, threw behind the Nationals outfielder his next time up.

Four players and both managers were ejected. Tossed from Florida were Volstad, Jose Veras and manager Edwin Rodriguez. The Nationals’ ejections were Morgan, Doug Slaten and manager Jim Riggleman. Slaten was thrown out after he pegged Gaby Sanchez with a pitch in the seventh. Riggleman also was ejected at that time.

Rodriguez said the Marlins are ready to move on and put the incident behind them.

“We’re going to keep playing ball. We’re going to turn the page and keep playing baseball,” the manager said. “Hopefully, nobody gets hurt.”

The friction created on Wednesday was linked to the 10th inning in Tuesday’s game when Morgan collided with catcher Brett Hayes on a play the Marlins believed Morgan would have scored on had he slid.

Hayes sustained a separated left shoulder, while Morgan was called out at the plate.

Retaliation by the Marlins was expected on Wednesday, and Volstad actually hit three players with pitches, including Morgan.

When the Marlins visit Washington, Helms says those games should be all about baseball.

“[Wednesday night] was something we had to do,” Helms said. “But we need to be professionals and just play the rest of the season. Unless something else happens there that starts it, then we’re going to go there and just play baseball.”

Rodriguez said the matter should have been done with after Morgan was struck by a pitch in the fourth inning. And the manager noted the Marlins were just pitching Morgan inside when Volstad’s pitch sailed behind him.

“Everything was resolved. We were trying to pitch inside,” Rodriguez said. “We were still trying to pitch inside the third time he was up. He was playing his game, we were playing our games, let’s put it that way.”

As bodies piled up, Sanchez, the first baseman, defended Volstad by knocking down Morgan with his right arm.

“It was really good that he got there as quickly as he did so Volstad didn’t have to take all of it at once,” Helms said. “That was really good. You’ve got to commend Gaby for that.”

Nationals third-base coach Pat Listach was in the pile on top of Volstad, who sported a swollen right cheek. Everything escalated from there.

“He had to defend his players, and Gaby reacted well,” Rodriguez said. “He was there. Along with Pat Listach, the third-base coach.”

Riggleman and Rodriguez exchanged words as well during the sixth-inning affair.

“We were trying to pull everybody out,” Rodriguez said. “It was Riggleman pointing at our players. We were trying to get [the players] off the field. I wanted his team to be off the field, too.”

Veras, meanwhile, was asking why he was tossed, because he believed he didn’t do anything wrong.

“I just was defending my teammates. I didn’t do anything to nobody,” Veras said. “I didn’t hit nobody. That’s why I went to them to ask [the umpires] what I did. I don’t know the reason they threw me out. You can see the video. I didn’t do anything. I just talked to one guy. I said, ‘Don’t argue and talk [that way] to the manager.’ That’s all I said.”

Chad Tracy was one of the first players in the pile at the mound.

“You’re trying to protect your pitcher from getting hurt, because after about the first 10 seconds, it’s just bodies on top of each other anyway,” Tracy said. “You’re trying to keep yourself from getting hurt. But at the same time, you’re trying to protect your pitcher. If you go in throwing blows, you’re asking for a suspension. We can’t really lose any more players right now.”

Asked if the tensions between the teams are now resolved, Tracy noted: “It should be, yeah.”

Las autoridades de Estados Unidos ordenaron la evacuación de miles de pobladores y turistas de la isla Ocracoke, el Cabo Hatteras y otras poblaciones costeras del estado de Carolina del Norte, en la costa este del país, ante la cercanía del huracán Earl.

La tormenta -que ha perdido fuerza en las últimas horas y ahora es de nuevo un huracán de Categoría 3- también mantiene en alerta a los estados de Virginia, Maryland y parte de Delaware.

Las autoridades del estado de Nueva York y la región de Nueva Inglaterra, en el nororiente del país, también están siguiendo de cerca la trayectoria del huracán, que pasará peligrosamente cerca de sus costas durante el fin de semana que incluye al día festivo estadounidense conocido como Labor Day, en el que usualmente miles de turistas se acercan a las playas.

Y en declaraciones a la cadena de televisión estadounidense ABC, el director de la Agencia Federal para el Manejo de Desastres (FEMA, pos sus siglas en inglés) indicó que numerosos pueblos y ciudades en la ruta del huracán iban a tener que tomar decisiones sobre posibles evacuaciones en los días por venir.

Preparados para lo peor

Según los pronósticos del Centro Nacional de Huracanes, con sede en Miami, la ruta actual de Earl no lo llevaría a golpear de lleno el territorio continental de Estados Unidos, sino que se desplazará en paralelo a su costa este.

Pero sus vientos de hasta 205 kilómetros por hora amenazan con generar fuertes marejadas en una extensa franja costera a partir del viernes por la madrugada.

El presidente Barack Obama dijo además que las autoridades se estaban preparando para “el peor escenario posible” y que iban a hacer todo lo posible para proteger a las comunidades más vulnerables.

A su paso por el Caribe, Earl dañó casas, derribó árboles y provocó la suspensión del servicio eléctrico en varias islas de las Antillas Menores y en Puerto Rico.

Y detrás de Earl avanza la tormenta tropical Fiona, por el momento con vientos de 75 km por hora

Carlos Slim, el empresario mexicano presidente de la compañía de telefonía América Móvil, es una de las 100 personas más influyentes del mundo en la “era de la información”.

De hecho, el mexicano se ubica en el número 31 del listado, por encima de James Cameron (director de “Avatar”), Ariana Huffington (Huffington Post), Steve Ballmer (presidente de Microsoft), entre otros.

La publicación destaca la compra que Slim realizó de acciones de The New York Times como una de sus decisiones más importantes. Pero también resalta otra de sus características.

“En promedio los mexicanos ordinarios ganan sólo US$13.500 al año, menos del 0,0000003% de la formidable fortuna de Slim, la más grande del mundo”, publica la revista.

¿Quienes se destacan?

Según Vanity Fair, la persona más influyente del mundo en la era digital es Mark Zuckerberg, presidente ejecutivo de la red social Facebook.

Facebook cuenta con más de 500 millones de usuarios y la publicación asegura que sus ganancias podrían llegar a US$2.000 millones este año. Su lado débil, sin embargo, serían los cuestionamientos al manejo de privacidad en su sitio.

En la segunda posición se ubica Steve Jobs, presidente ejecutivo de Apple. La revista dice que Jobs conquistó el mercado musical y de teléfonos inteligentes y ahora miraría hacia la industria editorial con el lanzamiento del iPad. Su talón de Aquiles: las fallas del iPhone 4.

El tercer escalafón es conquistado por Sergey Brin, Larry Page y Eric Schmidt, de Google. El ascenso de su sistema operativo Android para celulares es una de las razones por las que se encuentran en la cima. Pero es también el factor por el que están enfrascados en una batalla con Jobs, a quien -según Vanity Fair- veían como su mentor.

Entre las primeras 10 posiciones también aparece Jeff Bezos, de Amazon, y Evan Williams y Biz Stone, el dúo detrás de Twitter.

Según la revista la lista involucra a “creadores, empresarios y pensadores globales que generan tendencias, forman opiniones y establecen la agenda en el mundo de la tecnología, los medios y el entretenimiento”.

Washington (CNN)

A day after meeting with President Obama at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas struck a guardedly optimistic tone while sitting down with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department.

Key officials close to the negotiations have downplayed immediate expectations for the talks, which had been stalled for a year and a half. But simply resuming direct negotiations is a critical step, and reaching a comprehensive deal is one of Obama’s top foreign policy goals, they noted.

Clinton, who sat at the middle of a U-shaped table flanked by Netanyahu, Abbas and other senior negotiators, told reporters the meeting was part of a move toward “a future of peace and dignity that only [Israelis and Palestinians] can create.”

The United States “cannot and will not impose a solution,” she said, though asserting that a two-state solution is the only viable resolution to the conflict.

The U.S. government will be an “active” partner in the renewed peace process, Clinton promised. It’s in America’s national security interest to find a solution, she said.

Clinton, whose husband tried but failed to reach a comprehensive deal in the final year of his administration, said that “we’ve been here before and know how difficult the road ahead” can be. Opponents of a deal will try “to sabotage this process,” she warned.

For his part, Netanyahu said he sees in Abbas “a partner for peace.”

The Israeli leader said that reaching a lasting peace will require “mutual and painful concessions from both sides.” But Israel is prepared to go “a long way in a short time” to reach a deal, he said.

Abbas voiced his belief that the current negotiations “should, within a year, lead to an arrangement” for peace. Palestinian negotiators are prepared to “work on all the final status issues,” he said.

Abbas used the occasion to, among other things, call on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza.

Thursday’s talks followed a working dinner Wednesday with Obama, Abbas, Netanyahu, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

“I am hopeful — cautiously hopeful, but hopeful — that we can achieve the goal that all four of these leaders articulated,” Obama said Wednesday night.

Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the representative for the so-called Middle East Quartet, also attended the dinner. The quartet consists of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union.

While all the major players have struck an optimistic tone, key hurdles are confronting negotiators.

One immediate threat to the talks is the September 26 expiration of Israel’s 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank. Palestinian leaders have indicated they may walk out of the talks if the freeze is not extended. Some members of Netanyahu’s coalition government, on the other hands, have said they would leave the coalition if the freeze continues.

Another roadblock is the Palestinian view that any two-state solution must include a handover of all the land Israel captured in the 1967 war, along with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.

While Netanyahu has expressed openness about a Palestinian state, he also has strong opposition to a Palestinian takeover of East Jerusalem.

Hamas’ control of Gaza also remains a “major problem,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said earlier this week.

Leaders of Hamas are frequently in conflict with the more moderate Abbas and his Fatah organization, which has the upper hand in the West Bank. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, speaking to reporters Thursday in Gaza, said Abbas has no political legitimacy and no right to represent the Palestinian people.

While Gaza is generally considered to be part of any future Palestinian state, Hamas has refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist and is not a part of the talks. Zuhri said that “resistance operations” will continue against Israelis despite recent arrests of Hamas activists in the West Bank.

The Hamas pledge to continue attacks came after the Islamist group claimed responsibility for two shooting attacks on Israeli settlers in the past two days that left four people dead and two others wounded.

“We are under no illusions,” Obama said this week. “Passions run deep. … There’s a reason that the two-state solution has eluded previous generations — this is extraordinarily complex and extraordinarily difficult.”

CNN’s Ed Henry, Alan Silverleib, Hala Gorani and David Molko contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON

 “La jueza Salas hizo historia en nuestro estado en el 2006 cuando se convirtió en la primera Hispana en servir como jueza de Primera Instancia de los Estados Unidos por el Distrito de Nueva Jersey. En esta capacidad ha demostrado un excepcional nivel de profesionalismo e indudable capacidad para manejar casos difíciles. Antes de servir como juez de Primera Instancia, trabajó por más de una década en el sector público y el sector privado donde se ganó el respeto de colegas dentro y fuera de la comunidad legal por su intelecto, excelente desempeño, y profesionalidad. Tras evaluar cuidadosamente sus cualificaciones y en base de mis conocimientos de su compromiso con servir a su comunidad, fue para mi un honor recomendarla al Presidente Obama para jueza federal por el Distrito de Nueva Jersey. Su nombramiento continuaría mi compromiso con diversificar el sistema judicial federal.”
El Senador Robert Senator (D-NJ) ha recomendado formalmente a las juezas de Primera Instancia Esther Salas y Claire C. Cecchi al Presidente Obama para ser juezas a nivel federal por del Distrito de Nueva Jersey. Ambas mujeres han servido como juezas de Primera Instancia desde el 2006, siendo Salas la primera hispana en ocupar esta posición. Salas es miembro activo y destacado de la comunidad legal de Nueva Jersey donde ha servido como Presidente de la Asociación Hispana de Abogados de Nueva Jersey. También ha servido en el Consejo Hispano para el Desarrollo de Políticas Públicas del Gobernador, y en los comités de la Corte Suprema para asuntos de Minorías y Mujeres en la corte.

Haga click aquí para una copia de la carta que envió el Senador Menéndez a la Casa Blanca para recomendar formalmente a la jueza Esther Salas:

By Olga Alvarez:

Federal police caught Edgar Valdez, a leader of the Beltran Leyva cartel based in central Mexico and considered one of the most bloodthirsty drug kingpins, in a residential area near Mexico City on Monday.

Valdez moved about a ton of cocaine a month, officials estimated.

Born in Laredo, Texas, the 37-year-old put up little resistance, a police spokesman said. Dubbed “The Barbie” because of his blond hair and blue eyes, he allegedly used brutal tactics to wipe out rivals as he fought to control the drug cartel in central Mexico.

Security forces had been closing in on Valdez for over a year, the biggest breakthrough being the death of his boss, Arturo Beltran Leyva, in a December shootout with soldiers, Federal Police Commissioner Facundo Rosas said.

“Valdez has connections with organized crime groups operating in Central and South America to smuggle drugs to the United States, where he is also wanted,” national security spokesman Alejandro Poire told a news conference.

U.S. authorities had put a $2 million bounty on his head, but Poire did not say if Valdez would be sent to the United States. 

Rosas said Valdez was a U.S. citizen but that authorities were not quite sure if he also held Mexican nationality.

He added that security forces nabbed Valdez on their own, and there would be no reward.

As he was displayed to reporters on Tuesday, Valdez still wore the green polo shirt in which he was captured the day before. He grinned often as police described a high-flying and violent life.

The arrest of several of Valdez’s allies, U.S. intelligence tips and other sources provided evidence that Valdez had left his home of 10 years in the resort of Acapulco — where he owned at least one posh bar that was raided in 2009 — to lead a lower-profile life in wealthy neighborhoods of Mexico City, Rosas said.

Federal police nearly nabbed Valdez during a raid in an upscale neighborhood of the Mexican capital on Aug. 8. He got away, Rosas said, but police found him hiding out in a woody weekend getaway just outside the Mexican capital.

He was captured by an elite squad of federal police who have been trained abroad, Rosas said. Four other people described by police as Valdez’s inner security circle were arrested with him. Another of his associates was killed during a shootout with police outside a shopping mall in the city. 

Deadlier turf war coming up?
The capture follows the killing last month of another major drug boss, Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel.

“This is clearly an important capture and will take some pressure off Calderon in the short term but the impact will only be partial unless the government moves to arrest La Barbie’s hitmen and dismantles his gang,” Pedro de la Cruz, a security analyst at Mexico’s National Autonomous University, told Reuters.

(CNN)

Abuelazam was returned to Flint, Michigan, on Thursday amid tight security from Atlanta, Georgia.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said Abuelazam will be held in an 8-foot-by-13-foot cell with no television, and will be locked up 23 hours a day.

Everything in the cell is “breakaway,” so the suspect cannot hang himself, Pickell said. A deputy will check on him every 15 minutes, and he will eventually move to an even more secure cell, the sheriff said.

Abuelazam will be in restricted housing, separate from the jail’s general population. Pickell described the case as the most high-profile in all his years of law enforcement.

Abuelazam, an Israeli citizen living legally in the United States, was arrested August 11 at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. He was trying to board a flight to Israel when he was taken into custody, police said.

He is accused of slashing 18 victims in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio, killing five of them, from May through August.

So far, Abuelazam has been charged in only one of the stabbings. The investigation continues, and more charges are expected, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said.

One of Abuelazam’s alleged victims, Richard Booker of Flint, told CNN he planned to be in court for Abuelazam’s hearings.

Police say Booker is one of 14 people attacked in Michigan between May and August. Like the others, Booker was stabbed and attacked in the same geographical area, at about the same time of night and after offering to help the suspect.

Only one of the stabbing victims is named in the single complaint filed so far against Abuelazam. Booker is not the person named in that complaint.

Booker gave CNN a vivid account of what happened to him on July 19 when he said he encountered the suspect

On his way to a store, Booker said he met a man who asked him for help to get his truck hood open. As Booker was doing so, the man grabbed him from behind, he said.

“He had a Bowie knife … he tried to gut me or something,” Booker said.

“He stuck me, fell on top of me,” he said.

He said the man wounded him on his arm and “tried to stab me in the face and throat. I punched him in the nose and he kind of got off me a little bit.”

Booker managed to escape and make it home, where he passed out on his porch. He said he lost six pints of blood by the time he got to the porch.

“I just flipped out,” he said. “I didn’t know what the heck was happening.”

“I spent a couple of weeks in an ICU, and I was so close to death I was on a respirator, and they had to replace all my blood, eight pints of blood,” Booker said.

Authorities had Abuelazam in custody twice in the past month, both within hours of when stabbings were reported, but he was released. Police said he had not been linked to the attacks at the time.

He was arrested August 5 after a traffic stop in Arlington, Virginia, and July 29 for allegedly providing alcohol to a minor. He was fined $125 in July.

In the traffic stop arrest, police arrested Abuelazam after learning he had an outstanding warrant for assault. A knife and hammer were found in his car.

Authorities now believe both weapons were used in the string of stabbings. One attacks happened in Virginia hours after Abuelazam was released.

Most of the stabbing victims were African-American. Federal officials have not provided a motive for the attacks, but Leesburg, Virginia, Police Chief Joseph Price has said he believed the attacker was targeting African-Americans.

Abuelazam is believed to be responsible for three attacks in Leesburg, the stabbing deaths of five people and the wounding of nine others in Flint and a stabbing that wounded a man in Toledo, Ohio.

The suspect is said to have approached victims who were walking during the early morning hours, asking them for directions or other assistance to lure them near his car, police said.

In an August 13 hearing in Atlanta, Abuelazam waived extradition to Michigan.

• A Michigan man says he was attacked while helping a man get a truck hood open
• Abuelazam is suspected in 18 attacks in three states that left five people dead
• He was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia

CNN’s Susan Candiotti, Adam Reiss and Marylynn Ryan contributed to this report.

Washington (CNN)

The Maryland congressman, facing a resurgent Republican Party, “will discuss why he believes Democrats deserve to win the off-year elections and how they plan to do it, the legislative agenda as passed so far including health care, financial rescue, Wall Street reform, student loans, Afghanistan action, and Iraq withdrawal,” according to a statement released by the campaign.

As part of a grassroots effort, House Democrats are shooting for their supporters to knock on more than 200,000 doors nationwide.

The initiative comes as President Barack Obama’s approval rating stands at 47 percent, with 51 percent saying they disapprove of how he is handling his job, which ties the record he set in March, when 51 percent also gave him a thumbs-down.

According to the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released this month, 50 percent of all voters say they are likely to vote for a candidate who opposes the president.

A top House Republican boasted Thursday that Republicans are already positioned to take control of the House, and argued the Democrats’ political position will only worsen as election day approaches.

California Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the top recruiter of GOP candidates and chief Republican Whip in the House, told reporters there are “more than enough seats” to win, and added, “I think the map is getting bigger by the day.”

McCarthy, who has traveled to more than 50 districts so far during the August recess, said the economy and the president’s poll numbers are dragging down Democrats’ chances of keeping their majority.

On Obama, the GOP leader predicted, “I think his approval rating will be even lower” by November and said the overall size of the political playing field will expand as a result.

McCarthy said over 80 House seats are now in play, noting that is more than twice the number Republicans need to take the majority.

Ticking through many of the competitive races across the country, McCarthy predicted even more seats currently leaning Democratic — like Rep. David Wu’s in Oregon and Rep Carolyn McCarthy’s in New York — will begin shifting toward the Republican column.

McCarthy maintained there is a “panic mode inside the Democratic party from the Democrats themselves” and said party leaders would soon have to make tough choices about which candidates deserved resources and who would be cut off.

Another top House Republican, GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana, touted the more than 500 events he said Republicans have held so far over the recess in a call with reporters Thursday. He and other Republicans point out that the intensity of voters is driven by economic anxiety.

“Everywhere I go its about jobs and spending, it’s about the fact that economic policies of this administration have failed and the American people are looking for a new approach that will bring certainty,” Pence said.

Democrats dismissed GOP assessments about the midterms, arguing it was just a case of Republicans prematurely “measuring the drapes” before election day.

“In Kevin McCarthy-land, every seat in Congress is in play,” Ryan Rudominer, spokesman for the House Democratic campaign arm, shot back Thursday. He said that some of the so-called “Young Gun” candidates who were hand picked by McCarthy and other GOP leaders are not as strong as they are billed to be.

“With all the bluster and all the promises the NRCC has made, the bottom line is that they now face some tough decisions about which of their seriously flawed candidates with anemic fundraising have disqualified themselves as viable candidates and have to be abandoned,” Rudominer said.

Charlie Cook, a non-partisan political analyst, estimated on Friday a net Republican between 35 and 45 seats, “with the odds of an outcome larger than that range greater than the odds of a lesser outcome.”

Stu Rothenberg, another top non-partisan analyst, has predicted a likely GOP gain of 28 to 33 seats, though he has also noted that “larger gains in excess of 40 seats are quite possible.”

Republicans need to pick up 39 seats to win control of the House.

While Republicans repeat the mantra that the ailing economy will drive voters to make the midterms a “change” election, they remain vague about any detailed proposals they will unveil this fall to turn the jobs picture around.

McCarthy, who has been heading up an online listening project for Republicans to draft their policy agenda, will only say that will include a “fundamental government reform package” and will come out sometime next month.

Both McCarthy and Pence pointed to the economic speech by House Republican Leader John Boehner on Tuesday as an indication of what types of policies they will espouse in the final weeks before the election. But beyond calling for the resignations of top Obama economic advisors, Boehner’s speech gave little in the way of specific proposals.

CNN’s Deirdre Walsh and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report

Por primera vez en tres semanas, los 33 mineros atrapados en un socavón en el norte de Chile mostraron sus caras y su morada provisoria, a través de un video grabado por ellos mismos y enviado a sus familias.

Fueron 45 minutos de reveladoras imágenes, que se exhibieron a los parientes reunidos en el campamento Esperanza, en las inmediaciones de la mina, y arrancaron aplausos y sollozos. Luego, el material fue difundido por la televisión pública chilena.

La filmación es un recorrido virtual por el refugio, un espacio de unos 25 metros cuadrados a 700 metros bajo tierra en el que permanecen atrapados los trabajadores. Se registró con una minicámara enviada por el gobierno a través de ducto de 8 centímetros de ancho que comunica la mina con el exterior, por el que también subió el video terminado.

Con los torsos desnudos por el calor, los mineros saludaron a sus familias y mostraron su rutina de supervivencia.

“Acá hacemos reunión todos los días, acá planificamos, oramos…y nos reunimos en asamblea para que todas las decisiones que se tomen sean basadas a la orden de los 33 que estamos adentro”, relata, fuera de cámara, el trabajador encargado de guiar la grabación.

Los mineros hicieron gala de un estado de ánimo notable: en el video se los ve haciéndose bromas entre ellos, mostrando sus juegos e incluso cantando el himno a viva voz.

La delgadez y las ojeras de los retratados también hablan del inevitable deterioro físico del encierro. El ministro de Salud, Jaime Mañalich, dijo ante BBC Mundo que se estima que estos hombres han perdido diez kilos en promedio, en los 21 días transcurridos desde el derrumbe en la mina San José.

Rutina ordenada

La narración y el recorrido visual revelan que los trabajadores han montado un aceitado sistema para organizar la estadía bajo tierra, que se estima podría durar hasta cuatro meses más.

Según explicaron, habilitaron una zona de dormitorios y cuentan con un espacio sanitario.

“Acá lo tenemos todo bien organizadito: alcohol, remedios, desodorantes, pasta de dientes”, detallan, mostrando el botiquín.

También tienen “una especie de casino” en el que uno de los compañeros improvisó un juego de dominó para entretenerse.

Así, confirman haber cumplido una de las consignas que les habían dado los especialistas: separar espacios, dividir grupos de trabajo y diferenciar días y noches aún en un espacio sin luz.

Hasta revelaron que uno de ellos, Víctor Segovia, se ha convertido en cronista de las profundidades, escribiendo un relato pormenorizado de lo que han vivido desde el accidente.

Entre saludos a la familia y pedidos de “sáquenos luego (pronto), por favor”, los mineros se dieron espacio para un reclamo leve contra los dueños del yacimiento. Fue cuando mostraron el área que debía estar acondicionada para emergencias.

“Acá se supone que había condiciones para estar nosotros, pero cuando pasó esto se nos cortó la energía, se cortó todo…”, expresa el video. 

Más agua

La difusión de las imágenes trajo una dosis de sosiego a familiares y autoridades, tras un deterioro en las comunicaciones con el refugio.

El jueves, los expertos gubernamentales decidieron no establecer comunicación punto a punto, como se había hecho en días anteriores, porque necesitaban el ducto para otros fines.

“Sufren de bastante deshidratación y han bajado mucho de peso y, en ese contexto, a través de la segunda sonda en lugar de establecer una línea de comunicación continua como era nuestro programa, la estamos utilizando exclusivamente para aumentar el aporte de líquidos, que queremos llevar a más de cuatro litros por cada uno”, declaró el ministro Mañalich, quien destacó que el contacto continuo no se restablecerá por al menos cuatro días.

Según el titular de Salud, se comprobó que el agua que había en el área donde los mineros se guarecieron tras el derrumbe del 5 agosto no reúne las condiciones para consumo humano.

También han podido aumentar las dosis de alimentos despachados a través de las “palomas” mecanizadas, como se llama a los pequeños tubos que suben y bajan por el ducto con insumos, provisiones y mensajes, a un ritmo de una media hora por trayecto.

NASA ayuda

En tanto, el gobierno chileno espera la llegada de un equipo de la Agencia Espacial Estadounidense, NASA, para aportar asesoramiento.

Hace dos días, las autoridades mantuvieron una teleconferencia de 90 minutos con cinco expertos en los llamados “operativos de aislamiento extremo”, que organiza la agencia como entrenamiento para viajes espaciales prolongados.

Allí, los estadounidenses se interiorizaron del operativo de rescate e hicieron sugerencias puntuales, como cuidar la deshidratación o prevenir enfermedades asociadas al encierro.

“Será una misión de tres o cuatro personas y llegará el domingo o el lunes. Colaborarán en terreno para evaluar pautas nutricionales, de recuperación y actividad física y aspectos sanitarios, en lo que ellos tienen enorme experiencia”, detalló el ministro Mañalich.

Valeria Perasso

Enviada especial de BBC Mundo a la mina de San José, Chile

Shootouts in the drug war along the U.S.-Mexico border are sending bullets whizzing across the Rio Grande into one of the nation’s safest cities, where authorities worry it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or killed.

At least eight bullets have been fired into El Paso in the last few weeks from the rising violence in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, one of the world’s most dangerous places. And all American police can do is shrug because they cannot legally intervene in a war in another country. The best they can do is warn people to stay inside.

“There’s really not a lot you can do right now,” El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles said. “Those gun battles are breaking out everywhere, and some are breaking out right along the border. 

Police say the rounds were not intentionally fired into the U.S. But wildly aimed gunfire has become common in Juarez, a sprawling city of shanty neighborhoods that once boomed with manufacturing plants. It’s ground zero in Mexico’s relentless drug war.

More than 6,000 people have been killed there since 2008, when the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels started battling each other and Mexican authorities for control of the city and smuggling routes into the U.S. Nationwide, more than 28,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon launched his offensive against the cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006.

Until now, communities on the U.S. side of the border have been largely shielded from the violence raging just across the river. But the recent incidents are the first time that live ammunition has landed in American territory. 

On Saturday, as gunmen and Mexican authorities exchanged gunfire in Juarez, police in El Paso shut down several miles of border highway. Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier said his agency asked for the closure — a first since the drug war erupted — “in the interest of public safety.”

No one was injured on the U.S. side, but one bullet came across the Rio Grande, crashed through a window and lodged in an office door frame at the University of Texas at El Paso. Police are also investigating reports that another errant round shattered a window in a passing car. Witnesses at a nearby charity said at least one bullet hit their building, too.

El Paso police spokesman Darrel Petry said authorities have only confirmed the single bullet found at the university, but it is possible that several other shots flew across the border.

“As a local municipality, we are doing everything we can,” Petry said. “Looking where we’re at, the community we live in, that’s all we’ve got. It’s the reality of life here in El Paso for right now.”

Officers say the types of bullets used in the drug war can travel more than a mile before falling to the ground.

In Saturday’s shooting, the bullet that hit the campus building may have flown just under a mile before lodging in a door jam. Back in June, at least seven shots fired from Juarez flew more than half a mile before hitting City Hall.

In some places, El Paso is separated from Juarez by little more than a few yards of riverbed.

Andrew Kunert was napping Saturday when police started banging on his door at an apartment building just feet from the border. He said officers with high-powered rifles slung across their chests warned him to stay inside and away from windows until the shooting stopped.

In a letter to President Barack Obama after the City Hall shooting, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said it was “good fortune” that no one was injured and insisted the shooting was evidence of the need for more border security.

“Luck and good fortune are not effective border enforcement policies,” Abbott wrote. “The shocking reality of cross-border gunfire proves the cold reality: American lives are at risk.”

And Monday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a statement demanding more security.

“It’s time for Washington to stop the rhetoric and immediately deploy a significant force of personnel and resources to the border to protect our homeland,” Perry said.

Katherine Cesinger, a Perry spokeswoman, said the governor believes that more security — in the form of federal agents and even troops — could all but shut down the border to smuggling and help put Mexico’s warring cartels out of business.

The only way cartels “are being successful is by being able to operate on both sides of the border,” Cesinger said. “If you shut down that border, they are out of business. They are not able to continue.”

Obama has ordered about 1,200 National Guard troops to the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to help the Border Patrol and officials from Customs and Border Protection.

But the federal government has insisted that the troops will only help federal agents with intelligence, surveillance and other duties that do not involve actually arresting anyone.

Sheriff Wiles says more security in El Paso won’t solve the problem because the war is in another country.

“Juarez is experiencing a major wave of violence, and we are feeling some of that,” Wiles said. “I don’t know of any way around that. Until that issue is resolved in Juarez, we are going to be dealing these kinds of things.”

(CNNMéxico) —

En una investigación del periodista Jean-Paul Mulders y el historiador Marc Vermereen, publicada en esa revista en idioma flamenco, se asienta que Hitler tiene descendientes que viven en Estados Unidos y en Austria, el país donde nació.

Los autores del reporte tomaron pruebas de ADN de los parientes del Führer, y su posterior análisis demostró que el líder nazi pudo haber tenido ancestros judíos.

En total, Mulders y Vermereen visitaron a unos 40 descendientes de Hitler, quienes tienen el cromosoma Haplogrupo E1b1b1, el cual, indican, es raro entre los originarios de Europa occidental, pero prevalece entre los berebere del norte de África y en los judíos asquenazíes y sefarditas 

Según Mulders, el hallazgo principal no es simplemente el contenido sanguíneo de Hitler, sino que el Führer “estaba relacionado con la gente que más despreciaba”.

En Knack, Mulders asegura que los análisis del ADN de la saliva de los supuestos descendientes de Hitler, se realizaron bajo los estándares más altos que permite la tecnología en laboratorios de punta.

Sin embargo, lo publicado por los investigadores belgas dista de ser un hito. Ya antes, historiadores y biógrafos de Hitler han asegurado que en sus venas circulaba sangre judía.

La teoría más extendida es que su padre, Alois, había sido fruto de una relación ilegítima de su madre, una sirvienta llamada Maria Schickelgruber y un judío de 19 años, de apellido Frankenberg 

• Investigadores belgas analizaron muestras del ADN de descendientes de Hitler
• El estudio revela la presencia de un cromosoma relacionado con los judíos y los berebere
• Los autores del reporte dicen que Hitler tenía sangre de los pueblos que despreciaba

• Adolfo Hitler intentó robar la Sábana Santa de Turín
• Un enfermo y maloliente Adolfo Hitler

Los 33 mineros chilenos atrapados bajo tierra desde el 5 de agosto tienen una importante tarea que desempeñar en su propio rescate.

La alternativa elegida para traerlos de regreso a la superficie contempla el uso de una perforadora Raise Borer 950, que llegó a la mina en tres camiones.

Para poder llegar al refugio en el que los mineros han sobrevivido todos estos días -a temperaturas de entre 32 a 36 grados centígrados y con mucha humedad- la perforadora deberá taladrar un túnel vertical de 38 centímetros de diámetro y 688 metros de profundidad.

En esta operación, casi quirúrgica, los mineros deberán a continuación adosarle una cabeza perforadora a la barra, siguiendo instrucciones enviadas desde el exterior.

Una vez completado este paso, la Raise Borer -un escariador que pesa cerca de las treinta toneladas- comenzará a taladrar la piedra en dirección hacia la superficie, ensanchando el túnel hasta alcanzar los 66 centímetros de diámetro.

Terminada esta etapa, cada uno de los mineros será jalado hasta la superficie en una jaula individual, en un viaje que puede durar una hora.

Tiempos y escombros

Según el ingeniero de minas Enés Zepeda, director de la Federación de Sindicatos, Supervisores y Profesionales de la Corporación del Cobre, el operativo de rescate producirá unas 1.000 toneladas de tierra removida.

Esta tierra, según Zepeda, tendrá que ser desplazada por los mismos mineros atrapados para poder hacer funcionar el sistema de rescate individual.

El proceso durará entre tres y cuatro meses porque el escariador no puede trabajar a una velocidad mayor de 15 metros por día.

Y antes de que empiece a funcionar el Raise Borer, la operación de rescate necesita tener funcionando tres sondas diferentes: una para mantener la comunicación, la segunda para el envío de suministros y la tercera para mejorar la ventilación.

Según el colaborador de la BBC en Chile, Rodrigo Bustamante, la mayor preocupación de los trabajadores atrapados es tener suficiente ventilación.

 abanico de emociones

Hasta el momento, los mineros también han experimentado todo un abanico de emociones.

A la noticia del derrumbe, el 5 de agosto, le sucedieron dos semanas de creciente angustia.

Y la angustia le cedió el paso a la euforia el 22 de agosto, cuando pudieron contactarse por primera vez con el exterior.

De ahora en adelante, prevalecerá la ansiedad propia de un complejo y largo rescate.

Y su propio esfuerzo será vital para poder regresar a la superficie

Meek led Greene 54 percent to 33.2 percent, with 51 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press.

Meek will take on Marco Rubio — whom CNN projected will win the Republican primary for Senate — and Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned independent, in the general election.

In an e-mail to supporters Tuesday night, Meek thanked supporters for lifting him past Greene, a billionaire real estate investor who was funding his own bid after making a fortune betting against the housing market.

“The pundits thought this seat could be bought. Our critics wrote us off. But together, you and I proved them wrong,” Meek’s message said.

In the Republican primary for governor, millionaire businessman Rick Scott was ahead of Attorney General Bill McCollum, 46.4 percent to 43.1 percent, with 51 percent of precincts reporting, according to the AP.

Alex Sink, Florida’s chief financial officer, will win Florida’s Democratic primary for governor, CNN has projected.

The last polls in Florida closed at 8 p.m. ET.

Florida is one of five states holding primaries Tuesday. Among other big storylines of the night: Arizona Sen. John McCain is expected to fend off the biggest Republican primary challenge of his Senate career, and a little-known Tea Party candidate is taking on an incumbent senator in Alaska.

Voters also will pick the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in a wide-open Vermont race, and decide the runoff winners in two Oklahoma Republican primaries.

In Florida, the Democratic primary for Senate and the Republican primary for governor were two races in which two deep-pocketed political novices came virtually out of nowhere this spring, but managed to transform a pair of primaries into two of the most outlandish contests of the 2010 cycle.

Meek, a Democrat from Miami, Florida, had a clear path to his party’s Senate nomination until April, when Greene decided to fund his own bid.

Both campaigns quickly trained fire on one another, with Meek dubbing Greene a “Meltdown Mogul,” and raising questions about his colorful bachelor life and his friendships with scandal-tainted celebrities like Mike Tyson and Lindsay Lohan.

Greene linked Meek to an indicted Miami real estate developer and questioned Meek’s commitment to Israel, a weighty charge in a state with a large population of Jewish voters.

Republicans also were grappling with a divisive primary in the governor’s race between McCollum, backed by the state’s party establishment, and Scott, a millionaire former health care executive.

Scott spent $50 million of his personal fortune since joining the race in April, mostly by blanketing Florida’s expensive television and radio airwaves with advertisements questioning McCollum’s conservative bona fides.

Scott rocketed to the front of the polls, but stumbled on the campaign trail as he faced questions about his management of two health care companies that went on to face legal problems.

The race became so nasty that McCollum refused to say whether he’d support Scott as the GOP nominee if he loses on Tuesday.

“The question should be asked of him: Will he endorse me?” McCollum told reporters in Orlando, Florida, on Monday. “Of course, if it were to come out the other way for some reason, I would have to sit down with him and be persuaded. I see lots of problems with him, personally, right now. It would be very difficult for me.”

In Arizona: The race between McCain and former congressman and conservative talk show host J.D. Hayworth started off nasty, and didn’t get any friendlier down the home stretch. Forced to spend $20 million in the campaign, McCain was driven to the right on some issues as Hayworth accused him of not being a true conservative.

Hayworth called McCain “cynical,” and told CNN’s Jessica Yellin, “Twice denied the presidency, Mr. McCain believes that his place in history is to now become the lion of the Senate. Well, you only become the lion of the Senate by lying to your constituents in Arizona. He will rush back to D.C. and lurch so far to the left to win the acceptance of the elites in Washington, D.C. that if he is granted a last term in office, not only will we have been treated to the unfortunate denigration of Mr. McCain from a senior statesman to a political shape-shifter, we will have him there as a shameless panderer to the left.”

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers responded, “Congressman Hayworth is going to lose this race. It’s just sad that he’s going down with such little dignity.”

Fights over immigration fueled the race, as Hayworth and Tea Party activists challenged McCain’s previous efforts at reform, which called for tougher border security, but included a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented workers.

At a Tea Party rally two weeks ago, Hayworth pulled a word from a McCain letter on immigration which first surfaced in April, saying it was time to “regularize the status of John McCain,” and remove him from office.

“He may try to change the terminology,” Hayworth added. “Indeed, John McCain was sending out letters earlier this spring offering the boilerplate denial, saying, ‘Well, you know I oppose amnesty.’ And then in the next paragraph saying, ‘We must grant concessions to these people and regularize their status.’ That’s the new term [for amnesty].

“To put an end to amnesty once and for all, to secure our borders, to end any of this misguided talk about open borders, it is time to ‘regularize’ the status of John McCain. Send him back here to be a citizen among us,” Hayworth said to applause.

McCain’s campaign said “regularize” means “to follow the law.” And even as he was criticized at the rally, he was in the middle of a three-day, six-stop statewide tour with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, whose signing of State Bill 1070 earned her wide praise from conservatives, and made her the symbol of opposition to amnesty.

McCain during the campaign strongly defended the Arizona law, calling the situation on the border “the worst I’ve ever seen,” and called for the Obama administration, which was critical of the law, to do something about it.

“If you don’t like the bill — the legislation that the legislature passed and the governor signed in Arizona — then carry out the federal responsibilities, which are to secure the border,” he said.

Alaska: Incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, with one of the best-known political names in the state, is pitted against an unknown challenger. But attorney Joe Miller’s campaign picked up the support of the Tea Party movement and the backing of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

In a last-minute robocall for Miller, Palin went after Murkowski saying, “Lisa Murkowski has voted with the Democrats more than any Republican up for re-election this year. She waffled on the repeal of ObamaCare, co-sponsored cap and trade and voted for TARP.” But some think that endorsement of Miller is at least partly personal. Palin had tangled with Murkowski’s father Frank and defeated him in the 2006 governor’s race.

The Tea Party made its support known again in the final hours, promoting the more than half million dollars it put into Miller’s campaign.

Other races:

– Also in Alaska, voters decide on gubernatorial nominees. Gov. Sean Parnell, who replaced Palin when she resigned last year, faces two challengers in the GOP primary. Two Democrats are battling for their party’s nomination.

– Longtime Republican Gov. Jim Douglas is retiring in Vermont, giving Democrats hope of competing for the seat. Five Democrats are running in what’s considered a tight race. The winner will face GOP Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie.

– In Oklahoma, two U.S. House Republican nominations will be decided in a runoff. In the 2nd District, Republicans think they have a chance for a pickup this fall against conservative Democrat Dan Boren. They’ll decide his challenger Tuesday. And two Republicans are battling to likely replace Rep. Mary Fallin, who’s running for governor.

– A 10-way Republican primary in the Arizona 3rd Congressional District race to replace retiring Rep. John Shadegg has attracted national attention because Ben Quayle, son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, is one of the candidates. The winner will face Democrat John Hulburd in the fall in the heavily red district.

– Another House race to watch: Blue Dog Democrat Allen Boyd faces a challenger on his left in a primary in northern Florida’s 2nd Congressional District.

CNN’s Peter Hamby, Steve Brusk, Rachel Streitfeld and Jeff Simon contributed to this report.