Nation and World briefs for September 2

Trump paints new target on legal immigration

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Donald Trump’s aggressive rhetoric on illegal immigration has obscured a potentially historic policy shift — the Republican presidential nominee is the first major party candidate in modern memory to propose limiting legal immigration.

In his speech on immigration Wednesday night, Trump capped a list of steps to combat illegal immigration, with a final pledge to completely revamp the country’s legal immigration system in order to lessen the number of people allowed into the United States. “We will reform legal immigration to serve the best interests of America and its workers, the forgotten people,” Trump said. “Workers. We’re going to take care of our workers.”

Trump talked about limiting immigration to its historic norms. The share of foreign-born people in the United States — 13 percent of the population — is at its highest level since 1920. By making the case in a nationally televised address that immigration overall has to be limited, Trump has embraced the ideals of a small group of activists who, for decades, have sought to sharply reduce all forms of migration to the United States.

“It’s a big change,” said one of those activists, Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, who argued that Trump can espouse ideas that previous politicians, dependent on campaign contributions from business, cannot. “The politicians who are major speakers on this have always focused on rule of law.”

Since the 1990s, politicians who have taken a tough stance on immigration have usually come out against amnesty for anyone living in the country illegally, but spoke favorably of legal immigration. Many business groups that traditionally support the GOP seek higher levels of legal immigration. Advocates say the push underscores how necessary migration is for the economy, while critics contend it pushes wages down.

Indonesia screens for Zika as Singapore infections mount

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia is screening travelers from neighboring Singapore for the mosquito-borne Zika virus as the city-state reports a growing number of infections and its first case of a pregnant woman testing positive.

Indonesian Health Ministry spokesman Oscar Primadi said Thursday that health officials are recommending the Foreign Ministry issue an advisory against nonessential travel to Singapore, particularly for pregnant women.

Singapore on Wednesday said it identified 22 new Zika cases in one particular area of the city and its first case involving a pregnant woman. Singapore had 155 cases as of Wednesday.

Primadi said thermal imaging equipment to detect abnormal body temperatures was installed at eight Indonesian ports with routes serving Singapore, including the capital Jakarta’s airport. He said travelers also will be given a health questionnaire so they will recognize symptoms and know to immediately report to health authorities.

On Thursday, Malaysia’s Health Ministry said a 58-year-old woman who traveled to Singapore became that country’s first Zika case.

Florida finds Zika in local mosquitoes, bromeliads blamed

MIAMI (AP) — Florida has found the Zika virus in three groups of mosquitoes trapped in Miami Beach — the first time this has happened in the continental U.S. — and authorities are blaming a particular flower for making mosquito control much more difficult.

One of the traps that tested positive was at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, where bromeliads bloom. The plants trap standing water in their cylindrical centers, providing excellent breeding areas for mosquitoes amid their colorful flowers and pointy leaves.

“Everyone should know by now that bromeliads are really problematic for us. These are probably the number one breeding area for mosquitoes,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

He said Miami Beach is removing all bromeliads from its landscaping, and urged residents across the county to either pull them out or rinse them after every rain.

And with Hurricane Hermine bringing much more rain to Florida, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday ordered the county to immediately conduct aerial spraying by helicopter as recommended by the CDC.

Florida braces for ‘life-threatening’ Hurricane Hermine

CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Hermine strengthened into a hurricane Thursday and steamed toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, where people put up shutters, nailed plywood across store windows and braced for the first direct hit on the state from a hurricane in over a decade.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s winds reached about 75 mph in the afternoon, just above the 74 mph hurricane threshold.

Hermine was expected to blow ashore late Thursday or early Friday along the state’s Big Bend — the mostly rural and lightly populated corner where the Florida peninsula meets the Panhandle — then drop back down to a tropical storm and push into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned of the danger of strong storm surge, high winds, downed trees and power outages, and urged people to move to inland shelters if necessary and make sure they have enough food, water and medicine.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” Scott said. “It’s going to be a lot of risk. Right now, I want everybody to be safe.”

Explosion at SpaceX launch pad destroys rocket, satellite

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A massive fireball and explosion erupted Thursday at SpaceX’s main launch pad, destroying a rocket as well as a satellite that Facebook was counting on to spread internet service in Africa.

There were no injuries. The pad had been cleared of workers before what was supposed to be a routine pre-launch rocket engine test.

SpaceX chief Elon Musk said the accident occurred while the rocket was being fueled and originated around the upper-stage oxygen tank.

“Cause still unknown,” Musk said via Twitter. “More soon.”

The explosion — heard and felt for miles around — dealt a severe blow to SpaceX, still scrambling to catch up with satellite deliveries following a launch accident last year. It’s also a setback for NASA, which has been relying on the private space company to keep the International Space Station stocked with supplies and, ultimately, astronauts.