By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – A hurricane watch has been issued for the coasts of Texas and Mexico in the Gulf as Tropical Storm Hermine approaches.
The hurricane watch issued Monday covers the area from Rio San Fernando, Mexico, northward to Baffin Bay in Texas.
Hermine's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 50 mph. Additional strengthening is expected and the storm could approach hurricane strength before making landfall.
Hermine is located about 205 miles south-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and is moving north-northwest near 13 mph.
Heavy rain is predicted with northeastern Mexico into south Texas getting 4 to 8 inches with as much as a foot in some places. It could cause flash floods and mudslides.
6-month-old killed in I-35 van crash; 13 injured
A six-month old baby girl was killed when a van carrying a family lost control on Interstate 35 in central Texas and flipped over, injuring 13 others.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Lisa Block says the accident happened around 2 a.m. north of Hillsboro. Block says troopers think a tire blowout caused the van to lose control.
The girl who died has been identified as Evelyn Kate Garcia.
Block says the van was pulling a trailer and the passengers told authorities they were traveling from Dallas to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, for a family reunion.
Block says five of the injured were flown to hospitals in the Dallas area. Eight others were taken by ambulance.
Working struggling this Labor Day
This Labor Day, nearly one in 10 Americans is without a job - but the unemployed aren't the only ones struggling. Many workers have seen their workloads increase as a result of layoffs of other employees.
The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that, nationally, about 7.6 million jobs have disappeared since the recession began in December 2007. Texas has lost 172,700 jobs, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area has lost 93,300 jobs.
Job cuts and attrition appeared to boost productivity for a while, but recent data might signal that workers have reached their limit. U.S. productivity fell between April and June.
Also, the hiring outlook remains weak - suggesting that worker woes aren't over yet.