US Business

At least 46 migrants were found dead Monday in and around a large trailer truck that was abandoned on the roadside on the outskirts of the Texas city of San Antonio.

The grim discovery was one of the worst disasters involving migrants in the United States in recent years — and came five years after a similar deadly incident in the same central Texas city, a few hours from the Mexican border.

“At this time we have processed approximately 46 bodies that have been triaged and tagged and declared deceased,” San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told reporters.

He said that 16 people had been transported to hospital alive and conscious — 12 adults and four children.

There were no initial details on the age or nationalities of the deceased.

“The patients that we saw were hot to the touch, they were suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion, no signs of water in the vehicle, it was a refrigerated tractor-trailer but there was no visible working A/C unit on that rig,” Hood said.

Officials said three people were in custody over the incident.

“Tonight we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg told a press conference.

“So I would urge you all to think compassionately and pray for the deceased, the ailing, the families,” he said.

“And we hope that those responsible for putting these people in such inhumane conditions are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” 

San Antonio, which lies about 250 kilometers (150 miles) from the border, is a major transit route for people smugglers.

It has also been gripped by a record-breaking recent heat wave, and temperatures in the area hit 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.5 degrees Celsius) on Monday. 

The vehicle was found on a road near Highway I-35, a major US artery that stretches all the way to the border with Mexico.

A large-scale emergency operation was underway at the scene involving police, firefighters and ambulances.

According to San Antonio police chief William McManus, authorities were first alerted by an emergency call at about 5:50 pm local time (2250 GMT).

“A worker who works in one of the buildings up here behind me heard a cry for help,” he told reporters. “(He) came out to investigate, found a trailer with the doors partially open, opened them up to take a look, and found a number of deceased individuals inside.”

He said the probe had been turned over to the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In a statement, the DHS said it had initiated an investigation after receiving the call from San Antonio police “regarding an alleged human smuggling event”.

Dozens of emergency responders who had worked at the scene underwent a stress debriefing following the operation.

“We’re not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there, none of us come to work imagining that,” Hood said.

– ‘A better life’ –

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who advocates a tough line on immigration, hit out at President Joe Biden over the disaster — blaming the Democrat’s “deadly open border policies.”

“These deaths are on Biden,” Abbott tweeted. “They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”

Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic party’s candidate to run against Abbott in November, called for “urgent action” following the incident.

“Dismantle human smuggling rings and replace them with expanded avenues for legal migration that reflect our values and meet our country’s needs,” he said.

Mexico’s foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, called the incident a “tragedy” and said the Mexican consul was headed to the site. 

Ebrard said the nationalities of the victims were not yet known, but that two Guatemalans were among the survivors.

San Antonio was the site of a similar migrant tragedy in 2017, when 10 people suffocated to death in a sweltering trailer with broken air conditioning and clogged ventilation holes as they traveled into the United States.

Dozens more had been hospitalized with heat stroke and dehydration — with the truck believed to have been holding as many as 200 people, most of whom fled when it stopped in a parking lot. The truck driver later pleaded guilty to charges related to the deaths.

After news broke of Monday’s discovery, the archbishop of San Antonio, Gustavo Garcia-Siller tweeted “Lord have mercy on them. They hoped for a better life.”

“Once again, the lack of courage to deal with immigration reform is killing and destroying lives.”

The US drugstore chain CVS said on Monday that it had temporarily limited purchases of the morning-after pill to three boxes per transaction, in order to avoid a shortage following a recent US Supreme Court verdict that revoked the constitutional right to abortion.

In a statement, the company said it had “ample supply” of Plan B and Aftera, two products intended to be taken by women to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or if a birth control method fails.

The drugs — commonly known as morning-after pills — are distinct from abortion drugs, which terminate pregnancies.

The move comes after the US Supreme Court overturned on Friday the landmark 1973 “Roe v Wade” decision that enshrined a woman’s right to an abortion, saying that individual US states can now permit or restrict the procedure themselves.

“To ensure equitable access and consistent supply on store shelves, we’ve implemented a temporary purchase limit of three (boxes) on these products,” the CVS statement said. 

Walgreens, another major US drugstore chain, said it had no plans “at this time” to place restrictions on sales of morning-after pills.

“Walgreens is still able to meet demand in-store,” a spokeswoman said. “At this time, we are working to restock online inventory for ship-to-home.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Walmart supermarket chain was also limiting sales of morning-after pills to four or six for orders to be delivered by the end of the month but not for those to be shipped beginning in early July.

The company did not immediately respond to a request from AFP.   

Taiwan’s GlobalWafers on Monday unveiled plans to establish a massive plant in northern Texas to produce a component vital to making semiconductors with an investment of up to $5 billion.

However, the plan to produce silicon wafers, which would reinforce fragile supplies of computer chips, is contingent largely on legislation pending in the US Congress.

“With the global chips shortage and ongoing geopolitical concerns, GlobalWafers is taking this opportunity to address the United States semiconductor supply chain resiliency,” GW Chairperson and CEO Doris Hsu said in a statement.

“Instead of importing wafers from Asia, GlobalWafers USA (GWA) will produce and supply wafers locally.”

The material is used to produce chips needed for everything from cars to smartphones, and the global shortage in recent months has been a factor in driving up US prices.

Construction of the new facility — the first of its kind in more than two decades — is due to begin this year in Sherman, Texas, with the first production coming off the line as early as 2025, creating as many as 1,500 jobs, the statement said.

However, GW President Mark England said the impasse in Congress over the $52 billion “CHIPS Act” designed to boost the US industry could hinder the plans.

“The size and possibly the actuality of the Texas investment” are at stake, he said in an email to AFP.

Democrats and Republicans are wrangling over the differing versions passed by the Senate and House of Representatives and have not agreed on the final form of the legislation that would provide subsidies to manufacturers.

England said in a statement that the legislation would help “level the global incentive playing field,” and would be instrumental in ensuring semiconductor investments and supply.

US and state officials cheered the announcement but Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo urged quick passage of the CHIPS Act.

“We are at a make-or-break moment to expand domestic semiconductor production,” she said. “Moving quickly to pass this bill will demonstrate America’s commitment to robust domestic semiconductor capacity and provide more companies throughout the supply chain the confidence they need to move forward with investments here.”

The 300-millimeter silicon wafers are the starting material for all advanced semiconductor fabrication sites (or fabs), including recently announced US expansions by GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung, Texas Instruments and TSMC, but most are imported from Asia.

On Monday, Intel said that it was postponing a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of two semiconductor plants in Ohio, at a cost of $20 billion, due to a lack of concrete progress in Congress.

Construction work continues at the site, an Intel spokesman told AFP, but a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for July 22 had been postponed. 

The US drugstore chain CVS said on Monday that it had temporarily limited purchases of the morning-after pill to three boxes per transaction, in order to avoid a shortage following a recent US Supreme Court verdict that revoked the constitutional right to abortion.

In a statement, the company said it had “ample supply” of Plan B and Aftera, two products intended to be taken by women to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or if a birth control method fails.

The drugs — commonly known as morning-after pills — are distinct from abortion drugs, which terminate pregnancies.

The move comes after the US Supreme Court overturned on Friday the landmark 1973 “Roe v Wade” decision that enshrined a woman’s right to an abortion, saying that individual US states can now permit or restrict the procedure themselves.

“To ensure equitable access and consistent supply on store shelves, we’ve implemented a temporary purchase limit of three (boxes) on these products,” the CVS statement said. 

Walgreens, another major US drugstore chain, said it had no plans “at this time” to place restrictions on sales of morning-after pills.

“Walgreens is still able to meet demand in-store,” a spokeswoman said. “At this time, we are working to restock online inventory for ship-to-home.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Walmart supermarket chain was also limiting sales of morning-after pills to four or six for orders to be delivered by the end of the month but not for those to be shipped beginning in early July.

The company did not immediately respond to a request from AFP.   

At least 46 migrants were found dead Monday in and around a truck that was abandoned on the roadside on the outskirts of the Texas city of San Antonio.

The grim discovery was one of the worst disasters involving migrants in the United States in recent years — and came five years after a similar deadly incident in the same central Texas city, a few hours from the Mexican border.

“At this time we have processed approximately 46 bodies that have been triaged and tagged and declared deceased,” San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told reporters.

He said that 16 people had been transported to hospital alive and conscious — 12 adults and four children.

There were no initial details on the age or nationality of the deceased.

“The patients that we saw were hot to the touch, they were suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion, no signs of water in the vehicle, it was a refrigerated tractor-trailer but there was no visible working A/C unit on that rig,” Hood said.

Officials said three people were in custody over the incident.

“Tonight we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg told a press conference.

“So I would urge you all to think compassionately and pray for the deceased, the ailing, the families,” he said.

“And we hope that those responsible for putting these people in such inhumane conditions are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” 

San Antonio, which lies about 250 kilometers (150 miles) from the border, is a major transit route for people smugglers.

It has also been gripped by a record-breaking recent heat wave, and temperatures in the area hit 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.5 degrees Celsius) on Monday. 

The vehicle was found on a road near Highway I-35, a major US artery that stretches all the way to the border with Mexico.

A massive emergency operation was underway at the scene involving police, firefighters and ambulances.

According to San Antonio police chief William McManus, authorities were first alerted by an emergency call at about 5:50 pm local time (2250 GMT).

“A worker who works in one of the buildings up here behind me heard a cry for help,” he told reporters. “(He) came out to investigate, found a trailer with the doors partially open, opened them up to take a look, and found a number of deceased individuals inside.”

He said the probe had been turned over to the federal Department of Homeland Security.

Dozens of emergency responders who had worked at the scene were meanwhile undergoing a stress debriefing.

“We’re not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there, none of us come to work imagining that,” Hood said.

– ‘A better life’ –

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who advocates a tough line on immigration, hit out at President Joe Biden over the disaster — blaming the Democrat’s “deadly open border policies.”

“These deaths are on Biden,” Abbott tweeted. “They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”

Mexico’s foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, called the incident a “tragedy” and said the Mexican consul was headed to the site. 

Ebrard said the nationalities of the victims were not yet known, but that two Guatemalans were among the survivors.

San Antonio was the site of a similar migrant tragedy in 2017, when 10 people suffocated to death in a sweltering trailer with broken air conditioning and clogged ventilation holes as they traveled into the United States.

Dozens more had been hospitalized with heat stroke and dehydration — with the truck believed to have been holding as many as 200 people, most of whom fled when it stopped in a parking lot. The truck driver later pleaded guilty to charges related to the deaths.

After news broke of Monday’s discovery, the archbishop of San Antonio, Gustavo Garcia-Siller tweeted “Lord have mercy on them. They hoped for a better life.”

“Once again, the lack of courage to deal with immigration reform is killing and destroying lives.”

At least 46 migrants were found dead Monday in and around a tractor-trailer that was abandoned on the roadside on the outskirts of the Texas city of San Antonio.

The grim discovery was one of the worst disasters involving migrants in the United States in recent years — and came five years after a similar deadly incident in the same central Texas city, a few hours from the Mexican border.

“At this time we have processed approximately 46 bodies that have been triaged and tagged and declared deceased,” San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told reporters.

He said that 16 people had been transported to hospital alive and conscious — 12 adults and four children.

There were no initial details on the age or nationality of the deceased.

“The patients that we saw were hot to the touch, they were suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion, no signs of water in the vehicle, it was a refrigerated tractor-trailer but there was no visible working A/C unit on that rig,” Hood said.

Officials said three people were in custody over the incident.

“Tonight we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg told a press conference.

“So I would urge you all to think compassionately and pray for the deceased, the ailing, the families,” he said.

“And we hope that those responsible for putting these people in such inhumane conditions are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” 

San Antonio, which lies some 250 kilometers (150 miles) from the border, is a major transit route for people smugglers.

It has also been gripped by a record-breaking recent heat wave, and temperatures in the area hit 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.5 Celsius) on Monday. 

The vehicle was found on a road near Highway I-35, a major US artery that stretches all the way to the border with Mexico.

A massive emergency operation was underway at the scene involving police, firefighters and ambulances.

According to San Antonio police chief William McManus, authorities were first alerted by an emergency call at about 5:50 pm.

“A worker who works in one of the buildings up here behind me heard a cry for help,” he told reporters, “came out to investigate, found a trailer with the doors partially open, opened them up to take a look, and found a number of deceased individuals inside.” 

He said the probe had been turned over to the federal Department of Homeland Security. 

– ‘A better life’ –

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who advocates a tough line on immigration, hit out at President Joe Biden over the disaster — blaming the Democrat’s “deadly open border policies.”

“These deaths are on Biden,” Abbott tweeted. “They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”

Mexico’s foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, called the incident a “tragedy” and said the Mexican consul was headed to the site. 

Ebrard said the nationalities of the victims were not yet known, but that two Guatemalans were among the survivors.

San Antonio was the site of a similar migrant tragedy in 2017, when 10 people suffocated to death in a sweltering trailer with broken air conditioning and clogged ventilation holes as they traveled into the United States.

Dozens more had been hospitalized with heat stroke and dehydration — with the truck believed to have been holding as many as 200 people, most of whom fled when it stopped in a parking lot. The truck driver later pleaded guilty to charges related to the deaths.

“Lord have mercy on them. They hoped for a better life,” tweeted Gustavo Garcia-Siller, the archbishop of San Antonio, after news broke of Monday’s awful discovery.

“Once again, the lack of courage to deal with immigration reform is killing and destroying lives.”

Ghislaine Maxwell will learn her fate Tuesday when a US judge sentences the former socialite for helping late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls.

Maxwell, 60, faces receiving an effective life term in prison when judge Alison Nathan hands down her sentence in Manhattan’s federal court.

The Oxford-educated daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell was convicted late last year on five of six counts, the most serious for sex trafficking minors.

Her lawyers have argued for leniency, citing a traumatic childhood and claiming that Maxwell is being unfairly punished because Epstein escaped trial.

They called for Nathan to hand down a sentence less than the US probation office’s recommended 20 years.

Prosecutors have asked that Maxwell receive between 30 and 55 years in jail, arguing that she has shown an “utter lack of remorse” for her crimes, committed between 1994 and 2004.

Maxwell’s attorney Bobbi Sternheim wrote in a letter Saturday to Nathan that her client had been placed on suicide watch — despite not being suicidal — and that her lawyers would look to postpone her sentencing if she remained in solitary confinement. 

During her high-profile trial late 2021, the prosecutors successfully proved that Maxwell was “the key” to Epstein’s scheme of enticing young girls to give him massages, during which he would sexually abuse them.

Two of Epstein’s victims, identified as “Jane” and “Carolyn,” testified that they were as young as 14 when Maxwell began grooming them.

Maxwell’s lawyers say their client had “a difficult, traumatic childhood with an overbearing, narcissistic, and demanding father.”

“It made her vulnerable to Epstein, whom she met right after her father’s death,” they wrote in submissions filed earlier this month.

Money manager Epstein killed himself in prison 2019 aged 66 while awaiting his own sex crimes trial in New York.

“Ms. Maxwell cannot and should not bear all the punishment for which Epstein should have been held responsible,” her attorneys pleaded.

-‘Devastating harm’ –

The prosecution contended in its own court filing last week that Maxwell “was an adult who made her own choices.”

“She made the choice to conspire with Epstein for years, working as partners in crime and causing devastating harm to vulnerable victims,” wrote Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Maxwell has already been held in detention for some two years following her arrest in New Hampshire in the summer of 2020.

Her sentencing will cap a dramatic fall for the former international jetsetter who grew up in wealth and privilege as a friend to royalty.

Her circle included Britain’s Prince Andrew, former US president and real estate baron Donald Trump and the Clinton family.

In February, Prince Andrew settled a sexual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, who said she had been trafficked to the royal by Epstein and Maxwell.

In April, Nathan rejected a request by Maxwell for a new trial. 

She unsuccessfully argued that a juror, who had boasted of helping convince fellow panelists to convict Maxwell by recalling his own experiences as a sex abuse victim, had biased the jury.