ACAPULCO CLEANS UP

Mexican authorities say approximately 10,000 tourists had been evacuated from Acapulco and its environs as of Thursday (Sept. 19), with both military and commercial planes being used to carry people out of the storm-ravaged area. However, thousands more are still stranded, although authorities hope to reopen a highway leading out of the city today, which would enable thousands more to get out and enable authorities to speed up the delivery of aid. Some tourists complained of hotels running low on food and news reports showed flooding brought on by a storm blamed for deaths in other parts of Mexico. The storm — Manuel — weakened Thursday from a hurricane to a tropical storm, but it was still expected to create heavy rain over the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa.