President Joe Biden discussed efforts to address the unprecedented flow of migration along the U.S. southern border in a Friday afternoon call with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Biden and the Mexican leader spoke for 52 minutes, the White House said. Press secretary Jen Psaki called the conversation was "very constructive" and said it focused on coordination around migration and economic issues.

The planned end on May 23 of the public health ban on asylum seekers could lead to a rush of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. Lopez Obrador tweeted that the conversation was "cordial" and focused on "issues of interest to the bilateral relationship."

López Obrador said, “It’s important that there’s this communication, to listen to President Biden who has treated us with respect, as President Trump also treated us with respect, and we have to ensure a good relationship."

López Obrador is scheduled to visit Central American countries along with Cuba next week. He plans to speak to counterparts about economic development and social programs.

CHICAGO — Mexican artist Frida Kahlo helped capture a culture that hasn’t always been highlighted in American media and art. She was known for her self-portraits.

Her image in fine art elevated her celebrity.

Of Frida Kahlo’s 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits.

“I would argue that the image of Frida Kahlo as the artist is more recognizable than any other artist now. More than Warhol, more than Picasso, more than Van Gogh,” said Rebecca Meyers, permanent collection curator at the National Museum of Mexican Art.

And now, photographs from Kahlo’s private collection are on display for the first time at the National Museum of Mexican Art.

“When she died, Diego Rivera, who was her husband, had all of her personal belongings put into a little tiny room, a bathroom, and then sealed up,” said Cesareo Moreno, chief curator at the museum.

That room was discovered and unlocked decades later.

“They found her dresses, her medication, her jewelry, her corsets and these 6,000 photographs,” he said. “So, the time capsule was opened 50 years later and really revealed a part of Frida's life that was unknown up to now.”

The traveling exhibit of 240 images now provides an unprecedented glimpse into all aspects of her personal life.

“It's kind of like going into a small photo album — very intimate black and white exhibition. Something you won't really you really want to get close to, to inspect,” said Meyers.

Some photos explore her political leanings and revolutionary ideas. Another section called "Her Broken Body" looks at the pain and suffering she endured after nearly dying in a bus crash resulting in fractures in her spine, collarbone and ribs.

“She surrounded herself with snapshots of her family and friends and people she loved so much like we collect photographs today. Frida did also and in a sort of a special way, she's the first curator of this collection of photographs,” said Moreno.

Divided into six sections it begins with her family origins – the life of her mother and father together.

“And then it goes into Casa Azul, which is such a special section because it talks about the beginnings of her home that is now the Museo Frida Kahlo,” said Moreno.

Once known only as the painter-wife of renowned artist Diego Rivera, she came into her own through her works. She became a cultural icon, a symbol of women’s inner strength, and a celebration of Mexico.

“I think her reputation has even surpassed Rivera's. I think it's important that she's also she's kind of a doorway into the Mexican culture,” said Meyers.

Another doorway into her inspirations is revealed in her father’s own self-portraits.

“It turns out after looking at some of these photographs that were hidden for so long that her other love, her father, truly influenced her greatly with the whole idea of selfies,” said Moreno. “The man liked to take his own photograph and kind of had it down. He figured out how to do it well.”

Those selfies were prototypes for the style in which Kahlo painted her father and her distinct self-portraits.

“This sort of gives us a back story. It fills in some gaps that we didn't even know were missing, and I think really reveals a whole other side of Frida.”

It’s an intimate and fascinating insight into one of the most prolific and iconic artists ever.

Mexican immigration authorities have dissolved a caravan of almost 7,000 people that had departed the southern city of Tapachula and was headed to Mexico City, according to a statement released on Saturday by the Mexican National Institute of Migration (INM).

The migrants were given a migratory document that accredits their regular stay in Mexico, according to the INM.

Mexico's immigration authority held talks with spokespeople for the caravan and representatives from Central America, Venezuela, Haiti, and other countries.

The INM said, "with the agreements reached thanks to our talks, migrants are prevented from being victims of criminals who are dedicated to human trafficking or traffickers who expose the migrants to unsafe conditions."

Many of the migrants are from Venezuela, and many of them are families with children. There are at least three different groups divided among the cities of Huixtla, Mapastepec, and Escuintla in the Mexican state of Chiapas. A large number of them are still waiting to process migration documents to continue their journey to the U.S.

The Human Rights Watch released a report on June 6, stating that migrants and asylum-seekers who enter Mexico through its southern border face abuses and struggle to obtain protection or legal status.

Most migrants and asylum-seekers said they do not attempt to request protection at an official border crossing, fearing agents from the INM would deport them, according to the HRW report.

Some migrants and asylum-seekers told the HRW that "they sought protection at the border and were turned away by INM agents or security guards. Many said INM agents dissuaded them from seeking refugee status in Mexico and pressured them to accept voluntary returns to their countries."

The number of child migrants who crossed the treacherous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama has spiked, the United Nations Children's Fund said Friday. UNICEF said that in May 2021, 500 children were detected crossing on the jungle trail. But in May 2022, that number had risen to 2,000.

The fund estimates that about 5,000 children have crossed the Darien Gap so far this year.

Plagued by wild animals, swollen rivers, rough terrain and thieves, the gap claims many lives each year. The overall number of migrants crossing the land bridge between South and North America doubled.

The overall number of migrants crossing the land bridge between South and North America doubled, with about 32,000 crossing so far this year, compared to 16,000 in 2021.

Officials said 46 people have been found dead and 16 others were taken to hospitals with heat-related illnesses after a tractor-trailer rig containing suspected migrants was found Monday on a remote back road in southwest San Antonio.

Police Chief William McManus said a city worker at the scene was alerted to the situation by a cry for help shortly before 6 p.m. Monday.

Officers arrived to find a body on the ground outside the trailer and a partially opened gate to the trailer. Fire Chief Charles Hood said 12 of those taken to hospitals were adults and four were children. He said they were hot to the touch and dehydrated, and no water was found in the trailer.

"The patients that we saw were hot to the touch," Hood said. "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 AC unit on that rig"

An official had originally spoken on condition of anonymity because the information had not been authorized for public release. It may be the deadliest tragedy among thousands who have died attempting to cross the U.S. border from Mexico in recent decades.

Heat poses a serious danger, particularly when temperatures can rise severely inside vehicles. Weather in the San Antonio area was mostly cloudy on Monday, but temperatures approached 100 degrees.

Authorities said in a press conference that the incident is now under a federal investigation. Law enforcement said that at least 3 people were taken into custody, but they were not named as suspects in the matter. Police said that at least 16 of the patients were suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion and were conscious when they were taken to various local hospitals.

Every week, hundreds of migrants make the dangerous journey from Latin America to the U.S. border. The journey is even more concerning for a group of children.

“The stories are all the same, their parents send them north because they want them to survive," said Margo Cowan with Keep Tucson Together. "Whether it’s starvation or the horrific violence in their countries of origin.”

Cowan frequently works with unaccompanied minors to prevent deportation.

“There are legal mechanisms that allow people to present themselves at the border and apply for asylum, and it shouldn’t be a hostile environment,” Cowan said.

Latin American families are making use of this legal process. Last week, the Tucson Sector of Border Patrol processed around 107 unaccompanied migrant children.

“Smuggling organizations will bring these people and children, sometimes toddlers to these places in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere,” said Jesus Vasavilbaso, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent.

An agent at the Tucson sector says they don't usually deal with children migrants. Around 85% of migrants encountered at the tucson sector are adults that have to be tracked down and apprehended. Recent groups of children came from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, led by smugglers to turn themselves in to Border Patrol.

“The smuggling organizations sell this to the migrants saying that when you show up to the border, you just turn yourself in to Border Patrol, and they just let you in,” Vasavilbaso said.

But that’s not always how it works. The Tucson sector did a medical exam on each child then sent them to either health and human services or the office of refugee resettlement. Now those children have been sent to family members, child protective services, or back home.

This story was originally published by KGUN in Tucson, Arizona.

The migrants who were flown from Florida to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts have been taken to a military base.

Approximately 50 migrants were offered shelter and support services at Joint Base Cape Cod, according to CNN.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he sent the migrants to Massachusetts so other communities can share the "burden" of the crisis at the Southern border.

NBC News reports that the number of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border is approaching 8,000 per day.

“There is also going to be buses and there will likely be more flights, but I’ll tell you this, the legislature gave me $12 million and we’re gonna spend every penny of that to make sure that we’re protecting the people of the State of Florida," DeSantis said.

The U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts said she will speak with the Justice Department about DeSantis' treatment of the migrants. Some of the migrants were reportedly told they were going to Boston.

President Joe Biden said the move by DeSantis and other Republican governors is "un-American."

"Instead of working with us on solutions, Republicans are playing politics with human beings, using them as props," Biden said. "What they're doing is simply wrong... it's reckless."

Video above: Relief and rescue continue after Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Orlene made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast near the tourist town of Mazatlan on Monday before quickly weakening over land into a tropical depression.

Electrical cables swayed and sent off showers of sparks in the town of El Rosario, about 40 miles south of Mazatlan, close to where the hurricane hit.

Authorities did not immediately report any damage, but along the coast, they suspended classes, closed seaports and set up shelters.

Orlene lost some strength after roaring over the Islas Maria, a former prison colony being developed as a tourist draw. The main island is sparsely populated, mainly by government employees, and most buildings there are made of brick or concrete.

The hurricane's winds, once at Category 4 force, had slipped back to 85 mph as it hit land about 45 miles southeast of Mazatlan Monday morning, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

By Monday evening, Orlene had weakened to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and was moving north-northeast at 9 mph. The storm was 70 miles east-northeast of Mazatlan.

The government of Jalisco state, where Puerto Vallarta is located, suspended classes Monday in towns and cities along the coast.

Video: Florida Gulf Coast island faces massive cleanup after Hurricane Ian

In Sinaloa, where Mazatlan is located, some emergency shelters were opened.

Orlene could bring flood-inducing rainfall of up to 10 inches in some places, as well as coastal flooding and dangerous surf.

The ports of Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta were closed to ships and Mexico's navy announced that ports including Mazatlan, San Blas and Nuevo Vallarta were closed to small craft.

Mexico's National Water Commission said Orlene could cause “mudslides, rising river and stream levels, and flooding in low-lying areas.”

Also Monday, Tropical Storm Paine formed far out in the Pacific Ocean, but is expected to remain well out to sea and degrade later this week into a depression without reaching hurricane strength.

The hurricane center said Paine formed about 500 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, with winds of about 40 mph. Paine was moving north-northwest at 6 mph but was expected to lose strength by Thursday.

Project CommUNITY is an ongoing initiative across Hearst Television to put a spotlight on diverse voices in our communities. The initiative is built around regular coverage of people who are working to make a difference and stories detailing the history of the battle for civil rights, inclusion and social change across America.

On May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were shot and killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

In just one day, an entire community was left devastated.

In the days following the mass shooting, memorials were set up at the school and the town square.

People from near and far traveled to the sites to mourn. Some wrote cards, some lit candles, and others — brought music.

Anthony Medrano, a professional mariachi musician with Mariachi Campanas de America, organized a bus full of musicians from San Antonio, Texas, to play songs for the grieving community.

"Many of us are educators," Medrano, who's been playing mariachi music for close to 40 years, said. "We teach the children that look like the ones that were killed, and speak like the ones that were killed, and whose parents talk like the ones that were killed."

Performing in Uvalde

Medrano said his friend, artist Cruz Ortiz, went to Uvalde shortly after the shooting to process the tragedy. On his way back, Ortiz called Medrano asking if they could play mariachi music – anything to help comfort the heartbroken community.

With the help of a friend, Medrano secured a charter bus fit for 50 people. The bus was filled within hours.

Medrano instantly felt the weight of the devastation once he arrived at the town square's memorial site.

He saw 21 crosses, each etched with the names of the victims. The crosses were piled high with flowers, cards and toys.

"I have a five-year-old goddaughter that I spend a lot of time with," Medrano said. "And the toys that I saw at these memorials of these murdered children were the same toys that she has in her toy box."

Medrano said he broke down in front of a cross.

"I cried, I prayed, and I apologized," Medrano said. "I apologized to that soul for not being the answer to this problem. The problem of someone getting an assault weapon and going into the school and murdering children."

Medrano and the group of mariachi musicians played a few songs to the community, such as "Amore Eterno," which talks about love and loss, and "Las Golondrinas," a traditional song of farewell.

"These songs aren't your everything's gonna be okay songs," Medrano said. "The lyrics to the songs express the true tragedy. I mean, they don't put a bandaid on it, they kind of rip the scab off so you can get that emotion, so you can expose it."

Seven-year-old Mariachi performer Matteo Lopez also sang a song called "México Lindo y Querido," which Medrano said was appropriate because the community in Uvalde predominantly has roots in Mexico.

"This was a time to play the music that our culture and our community can relate to," Medrano said.

In mariachi culture, musicians yell out "gritos," which is a scream or yell during a song. It can be used in celebration but also can express a guttural cry out loud during songs of grief and loss.

"That's the way we process, we have to cry out loud," Medrano said.

At the end of the performance, Medrano said the community thanked the group of musicians and understood why they performed.

"There was very much a healing session right there in front of the memorials," Medrano said.

'The Song of the People': The history of mariachi music

Mariachi music has deep roots in Mexican history. According to the Smithsonian Institute, the music's oldest rhythms date back to Mexico's colonial times (around 1519-1810) when people from Spain and African slaves and their descendants mixed with hundreds of American Indian cultures to create a new Mexican culture that varied depending on the vast region. The music was referred to as "mariachi" around the 1850s. The bands consist of trumpets, violins, a vihuela (five-string guitar), a guitarrón (six-string guitar) and sometimes a harp. Mariachi musicians wear beautiful suits known as los trajes de charros.

In its earliest days, mariachi bands started simple with two violins, a harp and a guitar instrument known as the vihuela. In the beginning, mariachi music was localized and known as "the song of the people," Medrano said. Songs were handed down from generation to generation. The first songs of mariachi music, known as "Sones," imitated life and nature.

For example, a song called "El Relámpago," meaning lightning, has quick and sharp notes that imitate the sound of thunder in a storm. Some of the first songs also imitated animals, such as birds and donkeys. The songs would always be lively and rhythmic, lending itself to dancing.

Mariachi music evolved through the years into more ballads and the music changed depending on the region in Mexico, such as the huapangos style of music. Medrano said musician Rubén Fuentes started refining mariachi music with the band Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán during the era. The music became more orchestral, Medrano said.

"There was a beautiful mix of the music," Medrano said. "The songwriting, the arranging and just the persona of Mexico, like Jorge Negrete, you know, very classic star, Lucha Villa, Lucha Reyes, Lola Beltrán, all this was a beautiful mixture that came together to create what we do today."

It's tradition for mariachi's to perform for every occasion in life – including funerals, as a way to celebrate life and heal those who are grieving.

"You see mariachis perform at festivals and fiestas, and it's all confetti and piñatas and having a good time," Medrano said. "But the other side of that is that we also are there for families and for loved ones, individuals who don't know how to process a tragedy, and we're asked to come and give comfort through music."

Medrano said performing at funerals is a humbling role.

"But we understand as a mariachi culture, that's part of what we do. We make you smile, and we try to hug your heart when you need it."

Helping Heal: What is music therapy?

Just as the mariachi musicians helped provide healing in Uvalde, music has been used as a form of therapy for a long time.

Robert Krout, professor emeritus of music therapy at Southern Methodist University, has been involved with music therapy and grief work for decades.

In a mass casualty event, those impacted are dealing with shock, grief, anger and other raw emotions all at the same time. This can make it overwhelming for people to talk out loud about what happened – which is where music can help express how they're feeling when words cannot.

Krout said music is processed by the entire brain – from cortical levels of being familiar with a song and linking it to a specific past event, to influencing our heartbeat by matching the beat to the song.

In music therapy, there is a neurological process called entrainment, where the brain and other rhythms in the body (such as heartbeat and pulse) match an external stimulus. For example, people exercise while listening to upbeat music, because they will naturally run to the beat of the song.

In music therapy, there is a client (the person being helped), the therapist (a professionally trained clinician), the music, and the music experience.

The music used in therapy can be active: playing a composed piece, improvising while playing, or moving to the music. The music can also be passive: listening and responding to the music.

Music therapists look at the client's needs, why they were referred to the therapist, their musical background and what aspect of music might benefit the client. Ultimately, music is used to help the client realize their own goals.

Krout said his clients, who are experiencing grief, frequently have relationships with certain songs – whether it be special to them or special to their lost loved one.

Playing familiar songs can be a good start to therapy, as the lyrics can be discussed and reflected upon.

Krout also said songwriting is therapeutic – whether having the client write a song to commemorate the loved one who died or having a gravely ill client write a song to express their wishes to their loved one as a keepsake for when they die.

'We don't want this to be repeated'

After the trip to Uvalde, Medrano and his friends wanted to commemorate the victims.

"We didn't want anybody to forget what happened," Medrano said.

So, they made a corrido, which is a written report in song lyrics of what happened.

They named it "El Corrido de Los Angeles de Uvalde." Medrano said the lyrics do not sugarcoat the tragic details of the shooting.

"It talks about the 90 minutes that they were waiting for help, that they were calling 9-1-1," Medrano said. "Nobody rushed in to save them, to save some at least. It talked about the assault weapon. We talked about the hurt, talked about the families fighting to try to get inside to save their own children by they were held back."

Listen to the full version of El Corrido de Los Angeles de Uvalde in the player below.

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Medrano said he hopes the song will bring awareness and, hopefully, policy change to prevent more tragic mass shootings.

"We don't want anybody to forget this part of the history because we don't want this to be repeated," Medrano said. "And if we can remember it and recall it and report it, even through music, that maybe we can make a change."

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This video is the third of a four-part series by Clarified featured during Hispanic Heritage Month to educate viewers on the contributions, experiences and heroes of the Hispanic community.

MEXICO CITY, CDMX —

Hurricane Roslyn grew to Category 4 force on Saturday as it headed for a collision with Mexico’s Pacific coast, likely north of the resort of Puerto Vallarta.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Roslyn’s maximum sustained winds remained at 130 mph late Saturday.

The storm was centered about 65 miles west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes — the point of land jutting into the Pacific south of Puerto Vallarta — and moving north at 12 mph.

The forecast put Roslyn on a path that could take it close to Cabo Corrientes and the Puerto Vallarta region during the night before making landfall in Nayarit state on Sunday.

Hurricane Orlene made landfall Oct. 3 a little farther north in roughly the same region, about 45 miles southeast of the resort of Mazatlan.

Hurricane-force winds extended out 30 miles from Roslyn’s core, while tropical storm-force winds extended out to 80 miles, the U.S. hurricane center said.

Mexico issued a hurricane warning covering a stretch of coast from Playa Perula south of Cabo Corrientes north to El Roblito and for the Islas Marias.

Seemingly oblivious to the danger just hours away, tourists ate at beachside eateries around Puerto Vallarta and smaller resorts farther north on the Nayarit coast, where Roslyn was expected to hit.

“We're fine. Everything is calm, it's all normal,” said Jaime Cantón, a receptionist at the Casa Maria hotel in Puerto Vallarta. He said that if winds picked up, the hotel would gather up outside furniture “so nothing will go flying.”

While skies began to cloud up, waves remained normal, and few people appeared to be rushing to take precautions; swimmers were still in the sea at Puerto Vallarta

“The place is full of tourists,” said Patricia Morales, a receptionist at the Punta Guayabitas hotel in the laid-back beach town of the same name, farther up the coast.

Asked what precautions were being taken, Morales said, “They (authorities) haven't told us anything.”

The Nayarit state government said the hurricane was expected to make landfall Sunday around the fishing village of San Blas, about 90 miles north of Puerto Vallarta.

The head of the state civil defense office, Pedro Núñez, said, “Right now we are carrying out patrols through the towns, to alert people so that they can keep their possession safe and keep themselves safe in safer areas.”

In the neighboring state of Jalisco, Gov. Enrique Alfaro wrote that 270 people had been evacuated in a town near the hurricane's expected path and that five emergency shelters had been set up in Puerto Vallarta.

Alfaro said on Twitter that any school activities in the region would be canceled Saturday and he urged people to avoid touristic activities at beaches and in mountainous areas over the weekend.

The National Water Commission said rains from Roslyn could cause mudslides and flooding. and the U.S. hurricane center warned of dangerous storm surge along the coast, as well as 4 to 6 inches of rain.

File video above: U.S. preps for rising migration when Title 42 ends

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Title 42 — a controversial rule that's allowed U.S. authorities to expel more than 1 million migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.

Tuesday's court order leaves the Biden administration without one of the key tools it had deployed to address the thousands of migrants arriving at the border on a daily basis and could restore access to asylum for arriving migrants.

While the rule was drafted by the Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration has relied heavily on it to manage the increase of migrants at the border.

District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., found the Title 42 order to be "arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act."

Prior to Title 42, all migrants arrested at the border were processed under immigration law. Thousands of migrants sent back to Mexico have been waiting along the border in shelters. Officials have previously raised concerns about what the end of Title 42 may portend, given limited resources and a high number of people trying to enter the country.

CNN has reached out to the White House, Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security for comment.

Sullivan faulted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued the public health order, for "its decision to ignore the harm that could be caused" by issuing the policy. He said the CDC also failed to consider alternative approaches, such as letting migrants self-quarantine in homes of US-based friends, family, or shelters. The agency, he said, should have reexamined its approach when vaccines and tests became widely available.

"With regard to whether defendants could have 'ramped up vaccinations, outdoor processing, and all other available public health measures,'... the court finds the CDC failed to articulate a satisfactory explanation for why such measures were not feasible," Sullivan wrote.

The judge also concluded that the policy did not rationally serve its purpose, given that COVID-19 was already widespread throughout the United States when the policy was rolled out.

"Title 42 was never about public health, and this ruling finally ends the charade of using Title 42 to bar desperate asylum seekers from even getting a hearing," American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the case, said in a statement.

The injunction request came from the ACLU, along with other immigrant advocacy groups, and involves all demographics, including single adults and families. Unaccompanied children were already exempt from the order.

The public health authority was invoked at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and has been criticized by immigrant advocates, attorneys and health experts who argue it has no health basis and puts migrants in harm's way.

Sullivan had previously blocked the Biden administration from expelling migrant families with children apprehended at the US-Mexico border.

Earlier this year, the CDC announced plans to terminate the order. The CDC said at the time it's no longer necessary given current public health conditions and the increased availability of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.

But in May, a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the Biden administration from ending Title 42.

Since that court order, the administration has continued to rely on Title 42 and most recently, expanding it to include Venezuelan migrants who have arrived at the US southern border in large numbers.

More than three dozen migrants have died in a fire at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, an official said Tuesday.Images from the scene showed rows of bodies lying under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue could also be seen.Thirty-nine people died and 29 were injured in the fire, which broke out late Monday, according to an official with the National Immigration Institute, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the United States. Its shelters are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have requested asylum in the United States and are waiting out the process.Mexico’s attorney general’s office has launched an inquiry and has investigators at the scene, according to media reports.

The Mexican Navy said Monday it is using ships and a plane to search for three Americans who went missing along with their sailboat off Mexico's northern Pacific coast.The Navy said it is using four patrol boats and a twin-engine prop airplane to search the area, but apparently no sign of the missing people has turned up yet.The three Americans were aboard the 44-foot sailing vessel "Ocean Bound." The U.S. Coast Guard gave their names as Kerry O'Brien, Frank O'Brien, and William Gross.They have not been heard from since April 4, when they were near the Pacific coast port of Mazatlán, Mexico. The three had planned to stop for supplies in the Baja town of Cabo San Lucas, before proceeding to San Diego.However, the Coast Guard said marinas in Baja, California have not reported seeing the vessel.

Officials at several school districts in Texas are traveling to Mexico to interview potential teacher candidates to meet the growing demand.

The ‘Exchange Teachers’ Visiting International Teacher Program was approved by the ESC-2 Board of Directors in December 2021.

District officials in South Texas are conducting interviews in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala.

“There are 65 candidates available right now. It does not mean we are going to use all 65, it’s just what the district is needing at this time,” said ESC-2 Associate Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Accountability, Dr. Daniel Ceballos.

District leaders say COVID-19 exacerbated the demand for educators. The need goes beyond teachers in core subjects like math and science.

“Now it’s really English teachers, special ed teachers, bilingual teachers, those are in high demand,” said Kingsville ISD Superintendent Dr. Cissy Reynolds-Perez.

“There may be potential other vacancies, because usually about May or April is when people start deciding if they are going to retire or not and so we just need to have a pool ready to make sure that we can fill those vacancies quickly and easily.”

Region 2 directors are looking forward to bringing highly qualified candidates into the classrooms through this specialized partnership.

“Making sure that all the shortages positions are taken care of, I think it’s going to be important not only to the teachers but the kids and the communities there,” said Dr. Ceballos.

“And what a better way than to have somebody also, an international teacher that comes in to also learn about the different culture as well, I think it’s an added benefit.”

This story was originally reported by Reyna Rodriguez at KRIS in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Feb. 22 is National Margarita Day and the popular cocktail has really made a name for itself in the U.S.

It's unclear who created National Margarita Day, but the hit 1977 song "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett surely had something to do with the famous Mexican cocktail's growing popularity in the United States over the years.

The tequila-based drink has a storied history, possibly going back as far as 1938. It's usually made with fresh lime juice, triple sec liqueur, a choice of a salted rim on the glass and of course, tequila.

The drink is said to be one of the most popular tequila-based drinks served in the United States.

All the way down in Australia they are celebrating. As Nine News Australia reported, there are many ways to enjoy, with a list of varieties and takes on the classic recipe.

In one version, the margarita is made using passionfruit. You could even use fresh raspberries, strawberries or mango juice. Or try it with pineapple and mint. You can modify the fruit's flavor by grilling it, as is the case with the grilled lemon version.

Or what about a version using hibiscus? This version still has most of the classic ingredients, like lime juice and triple sec, but with hibiscus cordial.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is giving the Biden administration a quick hearing on its effort to scrap a Trump-era border policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

The justices agreed Friday to hear the administration’s appeal of lower court rulings that forced it to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy that then-President Donald Trump introduced in 2019.

Arguments will take place in April, with a decision expected by late June.

President Joe Biden suspended the program on his first day in office. After Republican-led states sued, a federal judge ordered the policy put back in place, and a three-judge appeals court panel agreed.

Immigration advocates claim it's illegal to deny a person the right to seek asylum.

NBC News reports that more than 70,000 asylum seekers were returned to Mexico under the policy.

The photos look like a scene out of science fiction: Robot dogs patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, climbing over harsh terrain to search for threats and contraband.

But these images are real.

The Department of Homeland Security recently released them as it revealed details about how it's testing the technology.

Officials praised the robots' potential as a "force multiplier" that could boost Border Patrol agents' safety by reducing their exposure to life-threatening hazards. An article touting the tests on the DHS Science and Technology Directorate's website notes that someday the dogs, officially known as Automated Ground Surveillance Vehicles, could become "a CBP agent or officer's best friend."

"Don't be surprised," it says, "if in the future we see robot 'Fido' out in the field, walking side-by-side with CBP personnel."

But the details about the testing did seem to catch some people by surprise, sparking a flurry of reactions on social media comparing the images to dystopian scenes from sci-fi shows like "Black Mirror."

"This really felt like a slap in the face," says Vicki Gaubeca, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, an umbrella group that slams the initiative as an "alarming and outrageous" waste of taxpayer money that would be better spent developing systems to hold Border Patrol agents accountable.

Gaubeca describes herself as a lover of technology and dogs (she has five). But she says she sees nothing cute in the government's recent descriptions of robot dogs lending a "helping paw." For years her organization has warned that militarization along the border puts communities and migrants at risk. And this, she says, is just the latest troubling example.

"There are other technologies that they're already using that we feel like they should cut back on, and yet they're adding on another type of surveillance technology that's frightening, to be honest," Gaubeca says. "This certainly seems like it's something that's built for something very aggressive, like the theaters of war, rather than in a community."

Ghost Robotics, the Philadelphia-based company that makes the robots DHS teams have been testing, says there's nothing to be afraid of.

"We're focused on doing the right thing. We want to do the right thing for the national security and for the country," CEO Jiren Parikh says.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman says the project remains in the research and development phase, with no timetable for the dogs' deployment.

In the meantime, there are plenty of serious issues this technology is bringing to the surface.

There's a difference between science fiction and reality

Sometimes cute and sometimes creepy, robot dogs have been captivating Americans' imaginations for decades, long before videos of Boston Dynamics' four-legged robots dancing to Motown and BTS started going viral.

They've been symbols of futuristic innovation -- and ominous harbingers of what could happen if technology falls into the wrong hands.

In 1940, Westinghouse displayed a 60-pound aluminum-skinned dog at the World's Fair named Sparko that could walk, bark and sit. In the 1960s, the Jetsons' futuristic cartoon family briefly adopted a nuclear-powered electronic dog, Lectronimo, before deciding to donate him to the police department.

Menacing mechanical hounds hunted down fugitives in Ray Bradbury's dystopian 1953 novel "Fahrenheit 451." In 2017, an episode of "Black Mirror" featured terrifying robot guard dogs who chase and kill people.

But Parikh, Ghost Robotics' CEO, says there's a big gap between the way robot dogs are portrayed in science fiction -- and sometimes skewered on social media -- and the reality of the technology.

"It's a battery-operated computer that moves around on four legs that literally stops operating in four hours. There's no way they're going to be taking over anything," he says.

And, he notes, "it's a robot that's remotely controlled by a human in the middle."

But still, Parikh says his company's robots do provide a number of advantages in border zones. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is patrolling a huge geographic area, he notes, often under harsh conditions.

"This is a good way of technology adding value," he says, "filling in the holes."

During testing of the 100-pound robots, different types of cameras and sensors were mounted on them, transmitting real-time data to humans operating them via laptop or hand-held remote, DHS said.

Teams first tested them on asphalt, grass and hills in Lorton, Virginia, then tested them in more realistic scenarios in El Paso, Texas, where they walked up hills, down ravines and over rocks. The El Paso testing simulated sentry duty and inspections. And exercises also included maneuvers in tight spaces, high heat and low-oxygen conditions, "situations that are especially dangerous for CBP agents and officers," DHS said.

DHS Science & Technology program manager Brenda Long describes the dogs as a "great fit," given CBP's broad mission and the many risks its personnel face.

"The southern border can be an inhospitable place for man and beast, and that is exactly why a machine may excel there," she said in the department's press release.

Advocates at the border say they already felt under siege

Community advocates at the border have long accused the U.S. government of militarizing the region and using excessive surveillance. And the announcement of the robot dog testing doesn't help matters, Gaubeca says

"Border communities already feel over-surveilled, over-militarized, and yet they trot out this new technology and boast about it at a time when families are worried about how to get food on their tables and inflation," she says. "And it completely disregards the border communities as a community. It's like they fail to acknowledge that we're human beings on both sides."

For Gaubeca, it boils down to how resources are allocated.

"It's a use of technology that creates more problems and doesn't solve what we see as being the issue, which is how do we make this agency accountable, and how do we create a more humanitarian and efficient system at the border?" she says. "They should spend the money on something that is more humanitarian and effective, rather than intimidating."

The Biden administration has said it wants to create a more efficient, humane, orderly system at the border, but "this completely contradicts that sentiment," she says.

Ghost Robotics has partnered with the U.S. Defense Department in the past. And Parikh noted he'd just gotten off the phone with Ukraine's defense ministry before speaking with CNN this week. But he said the robot dogs on the U.S. border aren't part of a military effort -- and any suggestion that they are is silly.

"It's just another sensor carrier. It's really at a distance.... It's really for sensing around the environment. It's not really interacting with people. That's not what it's made for. There's no weapons on it," he says. "It's not being militarized for the border. It's not stopping people, saying 'don't go here.' It can't do that. It's a small robot."

The technology, he says, is designed to keep people safe. But could it ever be used against migrants at the border?

"That's not even come up ever," Parikh says. "It's not even a remote use case that's ever discussed or talked about."

People can't even agree about "a basic physical wall that's made of concrete and metal," he says.

"Do we really think we're going to start weaponizing robots? It's silly to do that. I don't think that's in the DNA of America either," Parikh says. "We live in a country that has so many rules and regulatory requirements in place that things like this are just remote and virtually impossible without the say of the populace."

Parikh says Ghost Robotics regularly works with legislators as well as government agencies.

"This is not done in a vacuum .... It has to go through processes and rules. Everything we do, everything, gets questioned. Everyone has the ability to question what we're doing."

This isn't just about the border

When Greg Nojeim heard about the robot dogs, his mind filled with questions. Chief among them: Has anyone studied their impact on privacy?

"The border has become a testing ground for new and intrusive surveillance technology," says Nojeim, co-director of the security and surveillance project at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

And in many cases, he says, the law hasn't caught up with the developing technology.

"Once the platform becomes accepted, believe me, new uses will be developed. It's inevitable. And I don't think we're ready as a society to say, this use is permissible, this is not. I don't think that legislatures are ready to say this is permissible, this use is not. ... I'm concerned that the technology is getting ahead of the law."

He says when that happens, civil liberties suffer. And that, he says, should matter to everyone, whether you live near the border or not.

As a recent Los Angeles Times opinion column noted, surveillance technologies that start out at the border often make their way into other parts of the country.

Facial recognition technology is one recent example, Nojeim says.

"That technology has now spread to some police departments, and people are finding that it doesn't identify people as well as it could, and that people of color are being misidentified at alarming rates," he says.

If robot dogs start patrolling the border, Nojeim says, it's only a matter of time before they could show up in your community, too.

Avocados at the grocery store could go up in price or may even become harder to find.

The U.S. is temporarily halting the import of avocados from Mexico after a U.S. official received a threatening call.

The U.S. plant safety inspector was working in the Mexican state of Michoacán when he received the call on his official cell phone, Mexico’s Agriculture Department said.

Avocado exports are the latest victim of the drug cartel turf battles and extortion of avocado growers in Michoacán, the only state in Mexico fully authorized to export to the U.S. market.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is assessing the threat and looking into whether it needs to take other measures to protect workers in Michoacán.

Avocados that are already in American grocery stores may become more expensive simply because there is uncertainty about when the ban will be lifted.

According to Avocados From Mexico, 2.5 billion pounds of the fruit were exported from Mexico to the U.S. in 2018.

The U.S. is the second-largest avocado producer, after Mexico, with 90% of production happening in California.

Growers in California harvest about 400 million pounds of avocados each year, according to Colorado State University’s Food Source Information.

For the first time in league history, the National Football League will host a regular-season game in Munich, Germany, in 2022.

In a press release, the league announced on Wednesday that they would host four other international games in 2022, including three in London and one in Mexico.

"We are very pleased to welcome Munich and Frankfurt to the NFL family and are excited to reward our fans in Germany for their passion by bringing them the spectacle of regular-season NFL football," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in the news release. "We look forward to staging our first game in Germany at FC Bayern Munich's fantastic stadium later this year and to exploring areas of [a] broader collaboration with the Bundesliga."

Two of the games in the UK will be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Jacksonville Jaguars will host their home game at Wembley Stadium.

The NFL is set to play games in Germany over the next four years, with two games being hosted at Bayern Munich Stadium, the home of the Bundesliga champions, and the other two will be played at Frankfurt Stadium.

The 2022 NFL schedule will be announced later this year.

BEIJING — Mexico’s one and only figure skater in the Winter Olympics is making history.

22-year-old Donovan Carrillo is Mexico’s male first figure skater since 1992 and only the fourth ever in the country’s Olympic history.

Carrillo is also the first-ever Mexican figure skater to advance to the free skate final.

He performed to a medley of “Black Magic Woman” and “Shake It”, by Santana on Monday.

The figure skater completed a short program with a personal best score of 79.69.

Carrillo told Reuters that this accomplishment is “like a dream come true.”

His journey to the Olympic games hasn’t been easy.

For one, there are no Olympic-sized rinks in Mexico and his local rink in Guadalajara closed when he was 13.

So, he and his coach moved three hours away to León, Guanajuato, where he could train at a miniature rink at a mall.

That means he’s had to maneuver and skate around amateurs and children.

Carrillo also wasn’t allowed to play his own music because he was in a public space.

The Olympian has also struggled financially.

He and his family have crowdfunded about $2,400 so he could continue training.

Eventually, the Mexican government began funding him as an elite athlete.

Carrillo will compete again Wednesday to perform his longer free skate.

He said his goal is to improve and look ahead to the future.

“I think this Olympics – thinking more in the future – are going to be key to prepare myself for the next Olympic cycle, with the main focus on Milan 2026,” he said.

As families look ahead to Spring Break, the CDC and the State Department are urging people to avoid traveling to Mexico due to “very high levels of COVID.”

Mexico moved to the “very high” risk level 4 this week after being considered level 3 for more than six months.

A record number of new COVID-19 cases were reported this month in the North American country.

The agency advises if you must travel to Mexico, you should make sure to be to date with your COVID-19 vaccines.

Even if you are fully vaccinated, you may still be at risk of being infected and spreading the virus.

Children under two years of age should wear a mask indoors.

The CDC assigns countries as level 4 when there are more than 500 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 cases in the past 28 days.

The CDC also assigned 11 other countries to the level 4 list.

They include:

• Anguilla
• Brazil
• Chile
• Ecuador
• French Guiana
• Kosovo
• Mexico
• Moldova
• Paraguay
• The Philippines
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Singapore

The level 4 list now has a total of 130 destinations.

When you think of Mexican food, perhaps, tacos and burritos come to mind.

But there's a specific type of dish that is such a delicacy and it comes from Michoacán, Mexico.

In Milwaukee, you'll find murals, parks and carnitas Don Lucho.

It's been around for 10 years.

"Everything is fresh here we're all like family, even the workers," the manager said.

"I brought this from Mexico. They showed me when I was about 10 years old," owner Jose Luis Mejia said.

Mejia goes by the name "Don Lucho."

He's from Michoacán.

"It's the state most recognized for carnitas," Meija said.

He created a special recipe for tasty carnitas or pork tacos.

"There are different seasonings but you have to make sure it's authentic," Meija said. "The flame has to be just right, then you stir and keep adding meat."

The process is long. The meat cooks for about 2 hours.

Then it's chopped and ready to serve.

"It's like an art," Meija said.

Customers have options, too: Carnitas or cuero — the skin.

Meija said in Mexico it was too difficult to start a business so he came to the United States, received immigration amnesty and opened his shop.

"The flavor that we give us authentic, the flavor. It's really doing something unique," the manager said.

On any given weekend, Meija said he sells about 2,600 pounds of carnitas.

"I am very humble, but it makes me happy when I see a crowd of people gathered at my restaurant," he said.

Meija said his customers are not only from Milwaukee but surrounding areas as well.

Watch the video above for the full story.

CULIACAN, Mexico —

The house former drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán fled in 2014 when Mexican marines had him surrounded underwent some changes recently as the Mexican government prepared to give it away in a national lottery.

The surveillance cameras that covered every angle of the modest home’s exterior were removed. And the hole under a bathtub that Guzmán had slipped through to reach a network of tunnels was covered with a concrete slab.

The Associated Press was given access to the property in a quiet Culiacan neighborhood ahead of the lottery. In recent weeks, Mexico’s Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People, known by its initials as INDEP, gave it a fresh coat of white paint inside and out and tiled over the spot in the bathroom where the tub and tunnel entry point had been.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been talking up the lottery of seized properties, but gave no mention to the history of this particular house. An expansive home in one of Mexico City’s swankiest neighborhoods and a private box at the famed Azteca Stadium have garnered more attention.

INDEP’s website lists it only as “Casa en Culiacán.” It’s about 2,800 square feet and located, perhaps appropriately, in a neighborhood called Libertad, or “Freedom.” The government values the two-bedroom home at $183,000.

The house had been abandoned for years and the marines did some damage when they searched it, so repairs were necessary.

Guzmán escaped that time through the tunnels, but his freedom lasted only days. On Feb. 22, 2014, the marines descended again, this time in a condo on the coast in Mazatlan.

By that time, Guzmán already had a reputation for daring escapes. He had slipped out of one of Mexico’s maximum-security prisons in 2001, allegedly in a laundry cart.

In July 2015, less than a year and half after his capture in Mazatlan, Guzmán slipped through a tunnel dug up to the drain in his cell’s shower and rode a motorcycle on tracks laid through a tunnel to escape another maxium-security Mexican prison.

The marines captured him again six months later in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, where he had been holed up in another unremarkable home.

Guzmán was extradited to the United States, tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison in July 2019.

INDEP officials, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak, said they were surprised the house was getting attention. It is not luxurious. There is no swimming pool, none of the ostentation that characterizes other narco properties in Sinaloa.

People nearby said they didn't know who their neighbor was.

“We never knew anything, we never knew who lived there, we never saw anyone,” said one neighbor, who quickly cut off the conversation. Many locals aren't interested in speaking of Guzmán or even saying his name in a place where the Sinaloa cartel remains powerful.

The house was well located for its previous purposes. There is a neighbor only on one side. On the other is a subterranean storm sewer — Culiacan built hundreds of kilometers of them to deal with torrential rains — which is where the bathroom tunnel connected to make Guzmán’s escape possible. A school is across the street.

On the morning of Feb. 17, 2014, the neighborhood was suddenly filled with the marines’ grey trucks. They blocked traffic. There was no doubt they were interested in the seemingly unremarkable house.

But they didn’t find Guzmán there. In fact, during his U.S. trial, a witness testified that Guzmán was not in any of the five houses marines searched, despite reports to the contrary at the time.

Five days later, the marines caught up to Guzmán 125 miles to the south in Mazatlan, where he was staying with his wife Emma Coronel and their twin daughters.

INDEP tried to auction off the home last year. It started the bidding at about $130,000. There were no takers.

Now, López Obrador is giving it away as part of the lottery, with the drawing scheduled for Wednesday, the day before Mexico celebrates its Independence Day. It’s the first time Mexico’s national lottery is giving away property. The proceeds are to go to Mexico’s Olympic athletes.

“This raffle is very important and I call on all the people, those who can help buying a ticket, or two or three,” López Obrador said at his daily news conference last week.

In downtown Mexico City, lottery ticket vendors said sales have been good.

Jorge López said he’s been selling 100 to 120 of the $12 tickets daily since last week. “Right now, it’s selling very well.” He said the value of the 22 prizes, many well above that of the Culiacan house, is drawing attention. Some people ask about who the properties’ previous owners were, but not many, he said.

Back in Culiacan, across town near the center, Ignacio Mariscal said he supports the lottery. “Those houses didn’t serve anyone; those people had them,” Mariscal said. “I see it as perfectly fine. It’s to help people in need.”

__

AP writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report.

DENVER — Seventeen years ago, 15-year-old Bianca Acosta couldn’t look her mother in the eyes as she bid goodbye to her family and Mexico, seeking safety, security, and a career in the United States.

Acosta was born and raised in a small village in Zacatecas, Mexico.

“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark,” Acosta said, quoting poet Warsan Shire.

Acosta embarked on a journey to the U.S. with a group of 15 people guided by a "coyote," a smuggler.

Only five people, including herself, made it through the two-month journey. Tapping into those memories is emotionally tolling.

“I was 15, and it was scary,” Acosta said. “I have PTSD.”

Acosta moved in with her family in Colorado. Her decision to pack up and leave opened doors to a career out of reach in her homeland. She graduated from the University of Northern Colorado and pursued a job in education.

Her schooling and safety came with many sacrifices.

“My grandfather passed in 2017, and I couldn’t see him,” Acosta said. “I have two siblings that I don’t know in person.”

Her immigration status as a DACA recipient prevented her from traveling outside the United States. DACA recipients can only travel if they can prove it’s for education, employment, or a humanitarian reason like a funeral or a sick family member.

Acosta did not qualify for any categories until last year, when her mother’s heart problems worsened. Fearful of her mother’s health, Acosta applied for "advanced parole," which allows immigrants to travel outside of the U.S. and return lawfully.

Still, it comes with risks, including the possibility of getting stuck outside of the United States.

Acosta went to the immigration office in Colorado to help expedite her application process, but she said she was told it would take eight to nine months unless her mother died. Determined, Acosta pushed forward and prayed to her ancestors. She was eventually approved for a three-month visit to Mexico.

“I was like, 'I’m going to see my mom, I am going to be able to tell her like, here is your runaway child; I’m here I’m home, I’m home,'” Acosta said.

For nearly two decades, she’s held on to childhood memories and phone calls. Technology in her small village is behind, video calls aren’t an option, and phone lines are sometimes down for weeks.

“My mom doesn’t know I’m coming, it’s going to be a surprise,” Acosta said. “I want to say, 'I’m sorry I couldn’t come before, sorry I couldn’t be there when she was sick, and to see my siblings grow up.'”

It’s an unexpected gift heavy with emotion. Acosta worries she may not recognize her mother after 17 years.

To help fund Acosta's extended trip to Mexico, a mentor launched a GoFundMe.

Acosta hopes to raise $5,000 to cover her rent and other expenses in the United States while she’s gone. Her 14-year-old daughter is in high school and will stay with a family member while she’s gone.

“I don’t think nothing that I ever do will give me back those 17 years that I missed, walking alongside my family, my land, my people,” Acosta said.

While it’s been challenging, she doesn’t regret her decision to leave. Over the years, their bond has grown stronger, and Acosta can't wait to make corn tortillas with her mother next to her.

The excitement to reunite with her mom steals her sleep as she inches closer to Saturday, the day she plans to begin her journey back home. Acosta says if she has to, she will sell her call to cover her expenses.

Adi Guajardo at KMGH first reported this story.