In other news: Mexico likely to see first female president; Popular climbing area in Yosemite National Park closed due to crack in granite cliff

Published 12:00 am Friday, September 8, 2023

By The Associated Press

Mexico is likely to get its first female president after top parties choose 2 women as candidates

With the selection of former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as the candidate of the country’s ruling party in next June’s election, Mexico will have for the first time two women from its main political powers competing for the presidency. Sheinbaum, as well as the opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez, have insisted that Mexico is ready to be led by a woman, but it will not be an easy path. On Wednesday night, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party announced that Sheinbaum had defeated five internal party rivals – all men.

A popular climbing area in Yosemite National Park has been closed due to a crack in a granite cliff

A popular rock climbing area in Yosemite National Park has been closed because of a crack that has developed in a massive granite cliff. The park says climbers recently reported the new crack on the western side of the Royal Arches formation near a climbing route called Super Slide. An investigation revealed that the crack has partially detached a large pillar of rock. An area including several climbing routes was closed Aug. 30. A short section of the Yosemite Valley Loop Trail was also closed, with a detour established.

3 sailors reach land safely after sharks nearly sink their catamaran in the Coral Sea

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Three round-the-world sailors have reached land safely after sharks nearly sank their catamaran in the Coral Sea. Both of the inflatable hulls on their 30-foot boat were damaged by what were thought to be cookiecutter sharks, a small species not considered dangerous to people. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority coordinated the rescue of the sailors after they activated an emergency beacon on Wednesday. A freight ship landed them at a Sunshine Coast harbor on Thursday. The men had left St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2021 and had been sailing from the Pacific nation of Vanuatu to Cairns, Australia, when they got into trouble.