News in brief

By The Associated Press

Report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents, but no evidence

of aliens

WASHINGTON | The Pentagon’s latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin.

The review includes hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds and satellites as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York.

While it isn’t likely to settle any debates over the existence of alien life, the report reflects heightened public interest in the topic and the government’s efforts to provide some answers. Its publication comes a day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs — the government’s term for UFOs.

Tropical Storm Sara forms in Caribbean

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras | Tropical Storm Sara formed Thursday in the Caribbean Sea and began lashing the sparsely-populated Caribbean coast of Honduras with heavy rain.

Sara was expected to cause life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides across portions of Central America, including Honduras, forecasters said.

The storm is about 65 miles north-northwest of the east coast border between Honduras and Nicaragua, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Sustained winds were maxing out at nearly 40 mph, with stronger gusts, as the storm moved west at about 10 mph, the agency said.

The storm was expected to stall and meander near the coast of Honduras through the weekend, according to the agency.

—From AP reports