At least 27 dead after two mass shootings in South Africa, police say Seventeen people killed near Johannesburg in suspected 'illegal goldmining turf war', as 10 killed in separate incident at barbecue venue near Cape TownTwo separate mass shootings near South Africa's two biggest cities killed at least 27 people, as the country grapples with one of the world's highest murder rates amid investigations into corruption and criminality within the police.The South African police service said on Sunday that 17 people were killed on Saturday night when eight suspects armed with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols opened fire at a bar in Wedela township, about 50 miles south-west of central Johannesburg. At least 15 other people sustained gunshot injuries in that attack, police said. Continue reading...
'It's hard to sell a house when it's covered in baboon faeces': Cape Town divided over plan to remove its monkeys Two troops of chacma baboons are breaking into homes and shops but animal rights activists insist coexistence is the answerCape Town's city council has said it will "imminently" round up two baboon troops coming into repeated conflict with residents. The animals will be sterilised and permanently moved to a newly constructed sanctuary. The plan has been fiercely criticised by animal rights activists, who say the monkeys should remain roaming freely, and that less destructive options have not been properly considered.Cape Town's baboon problem has been brewing since the 2000s, after the city stopped culling troops in the late 1990s after pressure from the public. But in the past two years it has reached boiling point. A 2025 census found that the population had grown by a third since 2000, from 360 baboons to 493, now living in 12 managed troops. Continue reading...
Rebel offensive against Ethiopian army stokes fears of return to civil war Fighting escalates after Tigrayan rebels form new coalition aimed at overthrowing Abiy Ahmed governmentThere are growing fears of a return to civil war in Ethiopia after an offensive by fighters from Tigray into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara and the formation of a new rebel alliance aimed at overthrowing the government of the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.About 600,000 people died between 2020 and 2022 during a devastating war between the Ethiopian army and the political party and paramilitary group the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Both sides are now accusing the other of triggering a return to open conflict. Continue reading...
Top South African police officer charged with raping woman, 18, and grooming 16-year-old girl Arrest of Shadrack Sibiya comes as country reels from cases of femicide and alleged police corruption and criminalityOne of South Africa's most senior police officers has been charged with raping an 18-year-old woman and grooming a 16-year-old girl, as the country's police face allegations of corruption and failing to tackle violence against women and girls.Shadrack Sibiya, who was already suspended from his role as deputy national police commissioner over allegations he interfered with political killings investigations, was arrested on Monday. He is facing charges of rape, people trafficking, promoting the sexual grooming of a child and two counts of grooming a child. Continue reading...
Hurricane Nolo still threatens Hawaii as Mexico's Baja braces for major Hurricane Polo Hurricane Nolo is moving away from Hawaiian islands but threat of heavy rain, flash floods and strong winds persistsHurricane Nolo was moving away from the Hawaiian islands on Sunday, but the threat of heavy rain, flash flooding and strong winds persisted in areas of the island chain still recovering from previous storms.Nolo was about 365 miles (585km) south-south-west of Honolulu and moving away from the Big Island at about 12mph (19kph). But the Hawaii county civil defense agency said a high wind warning, wind advisory and high surf advisory remained in effect for parts of the island through Sunday evening as Nolo's maximum sustained winds rose to 115mph (165kph). Continue reading...
Trump says he's 'very seriously' looking at a diesel export ban Trump says he's 'very seriously' looking at a diesel export ban(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he is still looking "very seriously" at implementing a US ban on diesel exports to combat high prices, even as others in his administration continue to focus on other possible steps. Most Read from Bloomberg
"That can oftentimes lead to a little bit of an increase on gasoline for cars, so we're looking at it very seriously - we may do it," Trump told a Fox News reporter Sunday while attending the Presidents Cup golf tournament final near Chicago.Several farm-state lawmakers have urged Trump to limit US diesel exports during the peak of the fall harvest season, as global fuel markets reel from the disruption to flows in the critical Strait of Hormuz and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. The US has emerged as the supplier of last resort to the world, with diesel exports surging to a weekly record near 2 million barrels a day last month.National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have been analyzing the ramifications of a potential short-term ban on US diesel exports over the last week, underscoring the seriousness of the administration's consideration of the idea.Oil CEOs and industry groups have pushed instead for suspending the federal diesel excise tax, saying it would ease prices without the drawbacks of an export ban. But that's been met with internal debate about how to waive the tax - especially with the House of Representatives in a pre-election recess.Diesel powers farm equipment, freight trains, trucks and delivery vans. US retail prices hit a record last week and are averaging about $6.50 a gallon, adding to voter anxiety over living costs before November's midterm elections.Energy Secretary Chris Wright said last week that the administration is working with refiners on voluntary export curbs as an alternative to a government-imposed ban. Some companies are already adding contractual protections in the event a pause on diesel shipments overseas prevents deliveries to foreign buyers, people with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg News Friday.In the event of a ban, US diesel prices would be widely expected to plummet, at least in the short run. A halt would leave America's allies, including Brazil and the UK, urgently needing to secure fuel.Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Narrow strait called the 'Gate of Tears' is a new flashpoint in the Iran war Narrow strait called the 'Gate of Tears' is a new flashpoint in the Iran war Fishermen motor past a commercial vessel anchored off Yemen's coast at Bab el-Mandeb, in the strait connecting the Red Sea with the Arabian Sea, on Sept. 12. (AFP via Getty Images)To visit Bab el-Mandeb is to understand that old adage about looks being deceiving. For this humble fishing village in Yemen, a tumbledown grouping of barely-there huts nestled between the water and an imposing mountain range, stands sentinel over one of the world's most vital waterways. The village shares its name with the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow passageway connecting the Red Sea with the Arabian Sea that's become another flash point in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. "You hear so much about Bab el-Mandeb, you'd think we would be like New York, with skyscrapers and money," said Saleh, a 58-year-old resident who, like all people interviewed here, refused to give their full name to avoid reprisals."So many ships pass near here. If the Yemeni government knew how to invest in it, we would be rich. We should be bringing in billions of dollars. Instead, look around you," he said, pausing as his gaze took in the sorry-looking boats haphazardly laid on the beach."We have nothing."Saleh was interviewed in January, when Bab el-Mandeb was thrust into the power struggle between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the friendly-but-occasionally-fractious backers of Yemen's internationally recognized government.That war of wills ended with the Emirates ceding control of Bab el-Mandeb - along with the nearby island of Perim, where the Emirates had built a drone airbase - to Saudi Arabia.A commercial vessel is anchored off Yemen's coast in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. (AFP via Getty Images)But this month, control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait switched once more, when the Houthis, Yemeni rebels backed by Iran, ousted government forces from the waterway in a blitzkrieg in which they seized all of Yemen's Red Sea coast.The move grants the Houthis a valuable foothold in controlling the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a ribbon of Red Sea - known as the "Gate of Tears" for the dangers involving its navigation - between Yemen's coast and Djibouti and Eritrea.About 7% of global energy supplies and around 12% to 15% of all global shipping transit the strait. And in taking Perim Island, which lies in the middle the Red Sea at the strait's narrowest point (a mere 12½ miles), the Houthis could harass ships with ease."We don't need a drone or a missile," one Houthi commander bragged in a social media video posted from the island. Instead, he added, all they had to do was place a few artillery units on Perim's coast and they would be able to strike any ship crossing the strait.The impact of any movement disruption through Bab el-Mandeb wouldn't be limited to already skittish energy markets: To enter the Suez Canal's southern entrance, ships must first transit through Bab el-Mandeb, meaning any trouble in the passageway would force freighters to circumnavigate the African continent - adding anywhere from 12 to 21 days to voyages and spiking fuel costs.A shipping disaster in 2021 shows how blocking the strait - and thus severing a link to the Mediterranean Sea - could harm global commerce. A container ship in the Suez Canal ran aground and blocked the waterway for six days, delaying the delivery of billions of dollars of goods. Tugboats work to free the Ever Given, a cargo ship that became stuck on a sandbar and blocked the Suez Canal, in March 2021. (AP)More recently, the Houthis sealed off the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in 2023 to coerce Israel into stopping its campaign in Gaza; that pushed the U.S. to attack the Houthis, before the Trump administration agreed to a ceasefire of its own with the group. These days, the Houthi advance comes at a particularly fraught moment, one in which Bab el-Mandeb has taken on outsize importance. With the Israeli-U.S. war on Iran prompting Tehran to seal the Strait of Hormuz - cutting off the world's most important energy passageway - Persian Gulf oil powerhouses have been forced to divert crude exports to alternatives, including Bab el-Mandeb. That's especially true for Saudi Arabia, which turned to its East-West pipeline and exports through the Red Sea to sidestep the trouble in Hormuz. But it's also the most vulnerable to the Houthi threat.The Houthis have a long-running animus against the Saudis, which began in 2015, months after the Houthis overran the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in 2014. Saudi Arabia, spooked about the notion of an Iranian ally on its border, led a coalition - with U.S. backing - to dislodge them. It started a blockade and a devastating air campaign that persisted until a 2022 truce. But in July, the ceasefire broke after the Houthis accused the Saudis of striking Sanaa's airport in what appeared to be an attempt to stop Iranian flights from landing there. The Houthis began attacking Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and declared a naval blockade against the kingdom.This image taken from undated video released by the Ansar Allah Media Office, the media arm of Yemen's Houthi rebels, shows what the group says is a Houthi fighter firing a mortar during clashes with Saudi-backed forces at an undisclosed location in Yemen. (Ansar Allah Media Office Via Ap)The rebels' land grab this month stunned Saudi Arabia, which failed to launch airstrikes and stanch the rout of its allied forces from the coast. Saudi leaders reportedly reached out to President Trump to push the rebels back, but he appears disinclined to help.Still, on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "We have a very strong defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we will live up to our commitments in that agreement." He did not elaborate on what U.S. support that would entail.On Thursday, Saudi Arabia said its defenses intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards Taif, a manufacturing center, and Yanbu, a port on the Red Sea. It responded with hundreds of strikes on the Houthi-controlled areas in northern Yemen.For their part, the Houthis insist they have no plans to attack shipping on the Red Sea and that their blockade applies only to Saudi Arabia - a move calculated to prevent the rise of an international effort to dislodge them."They don't want to attract international military operations," said Mohammad al-Basha, founder of the Basha Report, a U.S.-based risk advisory."They realize that when you do things in the Red Sea, you create panic in the world."But leaders in the internationally recognized Yemeni government say the Houthis are not to be trusted.Yemeni government forces conduct search-and-clearance operations after announcing that they regained control of the strategic Mount Qarfan from Houthi forces in the Ash Shamaytayn district of Taiz province, Yemen, on Tuesday. (Marwan Abdullah Yahya Saeed Al-shabi / Anadolu via Getty Images)"The Houthi militias' use of the safety of navigation as a tool for blackmail threatens not only Yemen. It is taking hostage the entire global economy," Yemeni Vice President Abdullah Abdulkader al Alimi-Bawzer said at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday. He added that protecting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is the responsibility of "every economy that depends on secure supply chains, energy security and freedom of navigation."Read more:The 30-second kidnapping - and a family's years-long fight for the truthIn the meantime, the Houthis have been consolidating their gains on Yemen's coast, Basha said, setting up checkpoints and bringing loyalists to administer the regions now under their control.In taking the coastal areas around Bab el-Mandeb village, they reap the benefit of Emirati investment, manifested in kilometers of paved highways that stand in stark contrast to much of Yemen's road network. They also gain control of several airbases in the area, most crucially on Perim, where the Emirates spent years ferrying construction supplies to build out a roughly 6,000-foot runway along with three hangars. Although such a runway could not be used by larger bombers, it still can accommodate attack and surveillance aircraft. Another area of the island, which lies roughly two miles off of Yemen's coast, has what appears to be a helicopter landing area. Read more:War was supposed to crush Iran's 'Axis of Resistance.' Instead, it's bloodied but unbrokenOne resident in Bab el-Mandeb village said much of that construction was done by the Emirates, whose contractors would ferry Southeast Asian construction workers to the island and provide them with food. It also built roughly 100 structures for Perim's residents.Government forces have since overcome their initial disarray and stopped further Houthi advances. But Basha warned any attempt to push out the Houthis from the coast will be difficult, especially with the group's advances in manufacturing and fielding drones and ballistic missiles, not to mention the divisions and competing loyalties plaguing Yemeni government forces."It's an uphill battle," he said."You have a divided command-and-control; a divided Yemen; a divided society; a divided geography; and these divisions empower the Houthis."Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.This article originally appeared on LA Times at https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/flash-point-iran-war-narrow-100000880.html
White House airs taxpayer-funded Trump 'final battle' ad ahead of midterms White House airs taxpayer-funded Trump 'final battle' ad ahead of midtermsPresident Donald Trump appears in a television ad. - US GovernmentThe White House has launched another taxpayer-funded television ad before the midterms, this time featuring imagery of President Donald Trump walking down a hall as audio plays of him saying "this is the final battle.""We will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all," Trump says in the ad, echoing comments he made during a Veterans Day speech in 2023.The ad aired during at least two NFL games on Sunday, during Fox's broadcasts of the Washington Commanders-Seattle Seahawks matchup as well as the Carolina Panthers-Cleveland Browns game.The Trump administration has drawn widespread attention for its airing of ads featuring the president just over a month before the November midterms. The White House has compared the ads to previous administrations running public service announcements about Medicare, Obamacare and promoting Covid-19 vaccination, saying in a statement that its new commercials "are very clearly not campaign ads."The latest ad appears nearly identical to the majority of a video Trump posted on Truth Social in January 2024, during his third presidential campaign. The video on Truth Social has an additional six seconds that includes Trump's campaign logo and a number to text, while "Paid for by the US Government" is seen across the screen at the end of the White House-funded ad.This is the third government-funded ad to be captured in recent days by the media tracker AdImpact. An ad that began airing Wednesday featured rapidly edited pictures and video of Trump over audio of him denouncing communism and socialism, with text on the screen that touts his administration's accomplishments, such as "reigniting American manufacturing."A second ad features video of Trump at Mount Rushmore as his voice is heard saying, "Never before has any nation celebrated so magnificent a triumph as this one."The White House declined to elaborate on how the first ad was being funded but defended it as part of "public service announcements" to promote national pride."The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic," a White House spokesperson said in a statement. "We should be proud of our country."That ad drew scrutiny from the government watchdog group Common Cause, which suggested it could violate rules against using taxpayer dollars for "propaganda.""I don't think you have to be a legal scholar and wonder why the president has to use taxpayer funds to promote his image" this close to an election, Carol Evans, the vice president for policy at Common Cause, told CNN.For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/27/politics/white-house-trump-government-funded-ad
Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday that President Donald Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal because Tehran wanted sanctions relief and access to "billions in frozen assets" before negotiating an end to its nuclear program.
"They were asking for everything up front, with a promise that they would then talk," Waltz said on CNN's "State of the Union" when asked what Trump objected to.
In a separate interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Waltz called the proposal "a pretty cynical attempt to put something on the table that they knew was unacceptable." He said the U.S. would ultimately need to reach "some type of agreement" with Iran, but Trump would keep all options on the table.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in an interview later on the same NBC program, pushed back on Waltz's account and told host Kristen Welker that Iran was prepared to open the strait if the U.S. met its conditions, including releasing frozen assets and allowing Iranian oil sales.
"I am surprised that the ambassador is talking about a seven-day plan, as he has not read it," Araghchi said. "Maybe he has not been given a copy."
On Saturday, Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks in exchange for the U.S. lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales and committing to a seven-day ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
In an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation" recorded Friday and aired Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described the proposal as a staged approach based on an earlier U.S.-Iran agreement.
"Ultimately, the requests that were included in that memorandum and MOU have now been broken down into stages so that we can proceed according to those stages," Pezeshkian said. "These are things that both sides need to open up first, then we can sit down at the negotiating table and discuss other issues at hand."
"They wanna make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," Trump told reporters. "We're winning tremendously. We have total control of the Hormuz Strait."
Asked about the report, Waltz said, "I don't think that the president has said that himself; that's some reporting by a newspaper."
"What the president has said and said here at his U.N. speech was that the Iranians are miscalculating that he's taking into account politics here," Waltz added.
On "Meet the Press," Waltz also declined to confirm the reported timetable, saying Trump would "leave all options on the table."
Araghchi, asked about the same report, said Iran was "fully prepared for the war to be resumed" but remained open to diplomacy. "It is up to President Trump to choose," he said.
This comes as the war in Iran and rising gas prices put pressure on Republicans ahead of the November midterms.This article originally appeared on Politico at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/waltz-says-iran-wanted-sanctions-143305393.html
Susan Collins is back on the ballot for the first time since Roe was overturned Susan Collins is back on the ballot for the first time since Roe was overturnedGORHAM, Maine (AP) - For years, Planned Parenthood's endorsement of Susan Collins was enough to persuade Erin Evans to vote for Maine's longtime U.S. senator, believing that the moderate Republican would protect abortion access. Evans is now "just furious with myself" for those votes. The 56-year-old from Portland described Collins' critical vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, where President Donald Trump's nominee eventually helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion, as a betrayal. "I was a really uninformed voter," Evans said. "I thought any woman from Maine was probably in line with me." The Nov. 3 election will be the first time Collins is on the ballot since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, resulting in abortion being banned in much of the United States. This time, Evans says she is backing Democrat Troy Jackson, a former state lawmaker and logger trying to deny Collins a sixth term. Jackson and Democrats are hoping that voters like Evans will help flip a seat in a state the party has made a priority in the quest to retake the Senate. Both Collins and Jackson have made an effort to appeal to women, who make up the majority of Maine's population and have had a slightly higher rate of voting than men, according to a recent report by democracy advocacy groups. In campaign ads from both candidates, women are featured prominently. Democrats' ads have focused heavily on Collins' vote in support of Kavanaugh and describe her as caving to Trump. The Democratic-aligned advocacy group Affordable Maine has spent nearly $10 million on ads stressing the senator's backing of other Trump-appointed judges who oppose abortion. An additional $32 million has been spent by Win Senate, a political action committee focused on Collins. Planned Parenthood Votes has so far spent at least $500,000 to run ads that include a female voter who regrets voting for Collins because of her Kavanaugh vote. Yet Jackson is facing a steep challenge. Collins has a 30-year record of winning elections even as Maine voters have spurned Republican presidential nominees, including Trump, since 1988. And the issue trails others in terms of importance to voters. A New York Times/Siena poll conducted in September found that when asked in their own words what one issue will be most important in deciding their vote for Congress in November, almost no likely Maine voters mentioned abortion.
'I do not regret' voting to confirm Kavanaugh, Collins says
Collins has long called herself a "pro-choice" Republican and a supporter of a woman's right to an abortion. She was one of the few Republicans endorsed by Planned Parenthood earlier in her political career. In 2022, she co-sponsored legislation to put federal protections for abortion into law. The position has put her at odds with her party but was in line with Maine voters. In 2020, the last time Collins sought reelection, the vast majority of Maine voters in the Senate race, 76%, said the Supreme Court should not overturn Roe v. Wade, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. That included most Collins voters. Some 35% of voters who supported Collins in her successful reelection bid said they wanted Roe to be overturned. Collins' 2018 vote in support of Kavanaugh was crucial to his confirmation. At the time, Collins waited months before announcing her decision in a 45-minute floor speech. The final vote was 50-48. Kavanaugh later joined the 6-3 conservative majority in stripping away constitutional rights to abortion. Collins criticized the high court's decision in 2022, but she has never publicly wavered in her decision to confirm Kavanaugh. She told reporters in June that "I do not regret that vote." Collins had said before the 2018 vote that Kavanaugh, in a two-hour meeting with her, said he viewed Roe as settled law. But her confirmation vote is what stands out in the minds of voters like Bente Lundh, 67, of Falmouth. "She's positioned herself as this moderate voter, but she's really chopped that down with her vote for Kavanaugh," Lundh said. For others, Collins' long-standing record as a moderate continues to draw their support even if they are disappointed with the eventual overturning of Roe. "I think I've tried to not have my allegiance to party make me blind to what may be a better path from time to time," said Mary Ann Lynch, a Democrat supporting Collins. "Neither party, in my view, has a monopoly on the truth and how best to do things. So I think it's really important to have people who will reach across the aisle." Lynch added that Collins may have voted to confirm Kavanaugh, but she also voted to confirm Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who dissented in the abortion ruling. They were nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.
Jackson makes his case to women, abortion rights supporters
Since launching his campaign in July, Jackson has announced a "Women for Troy" coalition made up of women from all 16 Maine counties and he has secured endorsements from abortion rights groups Planned Parenthood and Reproductive Freedom for All. Jackson was serving as a top state senator when the landmark 1973 decision was upended in 2022. He says he worked to pass "some of the strongest protections for abortion access in the country." Yet Jackson has had his own hurdles. The Democrat became a last-minute Senate nominee after Graham Platner dropped out this summer following criticism of his past relationships with women and a sexual assault allegation, which Platner denies. Jackson is now scrambling to win over voters who may be wary of his connection to Platner. The two campaigned together as Jackson initially sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination but lost. Jackson also has had to explain the evolution of his support on abortion rights and same-sex marriage, both of which he opposed years ago. Jackson now says he was wrong about his past beliefs and changed his mind after talking to women. Jackson's campaign spokesperson Maggie Amjad said Jackson now holds a "100% rating from Maine's Planned Parenthood." Blake Kernen, a spokesperson for Collins, described the senator as the only "reliably pro-choice" candidate in the race.
Abortion is not top of mind for Maine voters
While Jackson is reminding voters of Collins' role in the abortion rights fight, he is doing so in a state that was not highly affected by the decision compared with Republican-controlled regions where many abortion clinics have shuttered, said Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine. "If you were in a state where all of the abortion clinics had closed, then that might be a bigger issue," Brewer said. "That has not been the case here." The state's Democratic-controlled Legislature in 2023 approved a law that allows abortions at any time if deemed medically necessary by a doctor, and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has enacted legislation protecting providers of abortion and gender-affirming care from legal action brought by other states. A CNN/SSRS survey of likely Maine voters conducted in late August and early September found that most voters are still unhappy about the decision to overturn Roe, but that anger over the loss of abortion rights could be overshadowed by broader concerns about the economy. ___ Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I. Associated Press polling editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Associated Press at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/supreme-court-vote-shadows-maine-115441052.html
Nor'easter uncovers possible 142-year-old shipwreck on Nantucket Nor'easter uncovers possible 142-year-old shipwreck on NantucketJason Graziadei, editor in chief of the Nantucket Current, spotted the new remnants of what's believed to be a shipwreck from more than a century ago on Nantucket's south shore Saturday. (Jason Graziadei / Nantucket Current)The powerful nor'easter pummeling the East Coast has uncovered what may be the remains of a 19th century shipwreck on Nantucket's shore.Jason Graziadei, editor-in-chief of the Nantucket Current, spotted the wooden remnants on the Massachusetts island's south shore Saturday and posted a video of them. He believes they likely came from the Warren Sawyer, a wooden schooner that wrecked near Miacomet Beach 142 years ago.Fragments believed to be from the same ship first appeared in December 2022, when a Nantucket resident spotted them while biking along the island's southern shore.Researchers examined archival, photographic, historical and archaeological evidence and concluded that the wreckage was "most likely" from the Warren Sawyer, according to a 2023 report from the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources. The three-masted schooner wrecked there on Dec. 22, 1884, while traveling from New Orleans to Boston with 1,115 bales of cotton and 28 tons of scrap metal, the report said.More wreckage believed to be from the schooner appeared in February 2023, about a half-mile west of the first find, according to the report."As far as I know, it's the first time a piece of the wreck has resurfaced since 2022, early 2023," Graziadei told NBC News on Sunday. "It's certainly possible it could be from another wreck, but given the location and appearance, we said it is most likely the Warren Sawyer."Jascin N. Leonardo Finger, deputy director of the Maria Mitchell Association, which runs a natural history museum on Nantucket, said in an email Sunday the newly exposed remnants may be from the Warren Sawyer, but "more investigation is necessary" to confirm their origin.The Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.A team of experts and researchers identified parts of the wreck discovered in 2022 "as most likely being that of the three-masted schooner, Warren Sawyer," lost at the same location in 1884. (Jason Graziadei / Nantucket Current)The Egan Maritime Institute, which works to preserve Nantucket's maritime history and assisted the board in previous efforts to identify Warren Sawyer wreckage, also did not respond to a request for comment.Shipwrecks near the island were not uncommon in the Warren Sawyer's time, Leonardo Finger told The New York Times on Saturday. Nantucket residents commonly scavenge items that wash ashore from wrecks, she said.This article was originally published on NBCNews.comThis article originally appeared on NBC News at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/noreaster-19th-century-shipwreck-warren-sawyer-rcna600073
