ASYLUM PACT SIGNED WITH HONDURAS

ON» The Trump WA S HING T administration signed a deal Wednesday with a third Central American country that would effectively seal off the region, preventing asylum-seekers traveling through from entering the United States.

The latest agreement, signed on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, paves the way to send asylum-seekers to Honduras, one of the world’s most violent countries, like its neighbors. A similar arrangement was signed with El Salvador last week; a more comprehensive agreement was previously sealed with Guatemala .

President Donald Trump said at a news conference at the United Nations that the agreements, coupled with a crackdown by Mexico following tariff threats by his administration, “will make a tremendous difference in our southern border.”

Woman behind French #MeToo movement fined for defamation.

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A Paris court ruled on Wednesday that the woman who launched the French version of the #MeToo movement must pay 20,000 euro ($22,000) for defaming the man she accused of harassment.

French journalist Sandra Muller said she fears the message of the decision is “be quiet.”

Muller launched #balancetonporc, which roughly translates as “squeal on your pig,” at the height of the global movement against sexual misconduct in October 2017 when she tweeted that former TV channel executive Eric Brion made sexually explicit comments to her.

Time Magazine featured Muller among #MeToo “silence breakers” in its 2017 “Person of the Year” edition.

Karen exits Caribbean after toppling bridge, cutting power.

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Authorities in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported a downed bridge, limited power outages, flooding and landslides as Tropical Storm Karen swirled away from the northeast Caribbean on Wednesday.

Schools remained closed in Puerto Rico, although government offices reopened. Meanwhile, everything reopened in the U.S. Virgin Islands except for offices and schools in St. John.

Crews temporarily closed some coastal roads in southeastern Puerto Rico that flooded after Karen hit the island on Tuesday and knocked out power to 29,000 customers.

AP source: Former lawmaker Darrell Issa to run again.

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DIEGO» Former Congressman Darrell Issa is poised to end a political retirement that started only last year when he lost his seat in a Democratic wave that turned over seven Republican-held California districts.

Issa scheduled a news conference for Thursday and will announce he’s seeking the seat held by fellow Republican and longtime-U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, who is running for re-election while under indictment on corruption charges, said Larry Wilske, a retired Navy SEAL and Republican also running in Hunter’s San Diego-area district.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Wilske said Issa told him he will run. Wilske plans to drop out and support Issa.

» The sheriff suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis over the Parkland high school shooting should be reinstated, a Florida Senate official said Wednesday, arguing the governor failed to show that the sheriff’s policies or alleged negligence were to blame for the massacre of 17 people.

Florida Senate special master Dudley Goodlette’s recommendation sets up a difficult decision for the GOP-led state Senate. DeSantis, a Republican, suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel as one of his first acts in office, and lawmakers will have to choose whether to follow their governor’s lead or agree with Goodlette’s conclusion that Israel should get his job back.

— Denver Post wire services