Hoax is such a flimsy word, far too feeble to describe the wickedness of which the Heenes, Richard and Mayumi, now stand accused. Theirs was sleight of hand for the soul: now we see it, now we don't; now we watch in horror and fear for their child's life, a 6-year-old boy, frightened, cold, lost in the clouds; now we learn he was up in the garage attic with snacks, while Mom and Dad auditioned for their 15 ...

Hurricane Rick weakened to a Category 4 storm Sunday evening as it churned in the Pacific off the west coast of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said. Rick, still a powerful storm, was expected to weaken further before landfall by midweek. "Interests in southern Baja, California, and western Mainland, Mexico, should monitor the progress of this extremely dangerous hurricane," forecasters said. "A hurricane watch may be required for portions of southern Baja, California, early Monday." At 8 p.m. (11 p.m. ...

With all of the recent deadly storms in the news, it may seem as though this year as been more active than a normal year. Since September 1 we have seen eight tropical cyclones, five of which became typhoons and two of those reached Super Typhoon status, the strongest classification of tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific. But when we look at the numbers, 2009 has actually been slightly below average. So far we have seen 19 tropical storms in ...

Arturo Fidelino couldn't sleep. The telecommunications executive, who lives in Manila, the Philippines, with his wife and teenage daughter, spent Friday "observing and awaiting" Typhoon Parma, which threatened to bring more destruction to a country already reeling from last weekend's killer storm. "We had a traumatic experience when we had Ketsana," which was a tropical storm when it slammed the Philippines last weekend and later strengthened into a typhoon. Ketsana was blamed for 246 deaths. "We don't want that to ...

Taiwan's premier resigned over criticism of the government's response to Typhoon Morakot, which slammed into the island last month. Liu Chao-shiuan said Monday that his Cabinet also was resigning en masse, according to the semi-official Central News Agency. Wu Den-yih, the secretary general of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, has been tapped to succeed Liu. Wu said a new Cabinet will be organized by Thursday, CNA reported. Liu came under fire for reacting slowly after Morakot. The storm triggered mudslides ...

An "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Jimena bore down Tuesday on the Mexican peninsula of Baja California, with the resort town of Cabo San Lucas lying in its path. The government of Mexico extended a hurricane warning northward along the west coast of the Baja peninsula to Puerto San Andresito and east to the city of Loreto, the U.S. National Weather Service said in an advisory at 5 a.m. ET Tuesday. The hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the warning ...

The number of people killed by a typhoon that slammed into Taiwan and China earlier this month continues to rise, Taiwan announced Thursday. At least 543 people are now known to have died when Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan, the country's Central Emergency Operation Center said Thursday. At least 117 people are still missing, and at least 46 people were injured. Emergency services also reported that 60 human limbs had been found, separately from the number of dead and wounded. ...

Hurricane Bill is expected to remain in open waters this weekend, but experts warn it still poses dangers along the U.S. East Coast. Although Bill weakened Friday afternoon to a Category 2 storm, CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider said it was "still a large and dangerous storm," especially the threat of rip currents along the coast. Rip currents, or rip tides, are strong seaward flows of water that occur where there's a break in the shoreline. They are capable of ...

Hurricane Bill blew toward land early Tuesday, edging closer to the West Indies with near 100 mph winds and the potential for developing into a major hurricane. The National Hurricane Center expected Bill to strengthen over the next 48 hours. Various weather models showed the storm either missing or grazing the west side of Bermuda as it heads toward the U.S. East Coast, CNN meteorologists said Tuesday. The models showed Bill's path moving dangerously close to the Carolina ...

Tropical Storm Claudette made landfall in the Florida Panhandle early Monday. The storm hit near the eastern end of Santa Rosa Island, just southeast of Fort Walton Beach in Florida, about 1:15 a.m. ET, the National Weather Service said. Claudette is expected to move through the Panhandle and into southern Alabama, CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras said. Even before Claudette made landfall, the storm's outer bands pounded the area with heavy rain, with officials warning that some coastal areas had the ...