Tropical Storm Karl is bearing down on Mexico, with two dangerous category four hurricanes – Igor and Julia – also sweeping in from the Atlantic. Karl, packing maximum sustained winds of 65mph (100km/h), is close to the Mayan Riviera on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Igor, said to be the season’s most powerful hurricane, is moving west-north-west towards Bermuda. Julia intensified to category four on Wednesday, with winds close to 135mph.

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico – Mexican authorities opened shelters and warned people to watch out for mudslides Monday as Tropical Storm Hermine approached the northeastern border with Texas, the second major storm to hit the area this season.

Hermine could approach hurricane strength before making landfall early Tuesday in a sparsely populated area about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Matamoros, a city bordering Brownsville, Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

A hurricane watch was issued for the area from Rio San Fernando, Mexico, northward to Baffin Bay in Texas.

BUXTON, N.C. – Hurricane Earl packed winds near 140 mph as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard up to Maine on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.

A hurricane warning for the tip of Massachusetts, including Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, joined earlier warnings and watches for hurricanes or tropical storms that stretch from North Carolina up to near the Canadian border.

Earl was a dangerous category 4 storm with no significant change in strength forecast before it comes close to the Outer Banks late Thursday, then turns north in rough parallel to the coast, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The center’s director, Bill Read, said the eye of the storm will likely remain about 30 to 75 miles east of the Outer Banks. At the closest point of approach, the western edge of the eye wall could impact Cape Hatteras, with huge waves, beach erosion and maybe some property damage from the waves.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Hurricane Earl lashed the northeastern Caribbean on Monday as a still-growing Category 3 storm on a course that could threaten the eastern United States later this week.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Earl, which formed on Sunday, was already a major hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph), and it was likely to keep gaining force.

“Interests from North Carolina all the way to Maine should keep an eye on the system,” said Jessica Schauer, a meteorologist at the Hurricane Center.

The storm’s forecast track would run north of the Caribbean, then bend to the north, roughly parallel to the U.S. East Coast. The hurricane center said it is early to say what effect Earl would have on the U.S.

NEW ORLEANS -  Three police officers charged in the killing of two unarmed residents on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina and a cover-up that followed pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. Sgts. Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen and Officer Anthony Villavaso stood before a federal magistrate in green prison garb, shackled at the waist and ankles. They will remain jailed at least until a hearing Friday. A tentative trial date is set for Sept. 13.

Magistrate Louis Moore Jr. read the counts — 13 against Bowen, 11 against Gisevius and 10 against Villavaso. Former officer Robert Faulcon made his initial court appearance Tuesday in Texas, where he was arrested, but has not entered a plea. The charges against the four carry a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty, although U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the Justice Department hasn’t decided whether to seek the latter punishment.

The family of two victims — Ronald Madison, who was killed, and his brother, Lance, who survived — sat in the front row of the packed courtroom. Gisevius cried quietly as he stood with his lawyer. "We’ll be able to pick this indictment apart," said Frank DeSalvo, Bowen’s lawyer. "There is a lot of fantasy there."

Bowen, Gisevius and Villavaso were suspended without pay after the indictments were released Tuesday, NOPD spokesman Bob Young said on Wednesday. Five former officers already have pleaded guilty to charges they helped cover up the shootings. Prosecutors have said police fabricated witnesses, falsified reports and plotted to plant a gun to make it appear that the shootings were justified.

The shootings at the Danziger Bridge happened Sept. 4, 2005, six days after Hurricane Katrina smashed levees and left the city flooded and in chaos. Bodies floated in filthy flood waters. There were reports of looting and gunshots rang out throughout the blacked-out city. It was in this backdrop that police, desperate to regain control, were called about 9 a.m. that morning after reports of gunfire at the bridge. Seven heavily armed New Orleans police officers stormed the bridge. Prosecutors said they shot at the first people they saw, people they say were crossing the bridge to find food. When it was over, two men were dead and four others lay wounded on the hot concrete.

The indictment claims Faulcoun shot mentally disabled Ronald Madison, 40, in the back as he ran away on the west side of the bridge. Bowen is charged with stomping and kicking Madison while he was lying on the ground, wounded but still alive. Madison’s brother, Lance, was arrested and charged with trying to kill police officers. He was jailed for three weeks before being released without indictment.

Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon and Villavaso also are accused of shooting at an unarmed family on the east side of the bridge, killing 17-year-old James Brissette and wounding four others. Sgt. Arthur Kaufman and retired Sgt. Gerard Dugue, who helped investigate the shootings, were charged with participating in the alleged cover-up. Charges against them include obstruction of justice. Kaufman and Bowen "specifically discussed using Hurricane Katrina to excuse failures in the investigation, and thereby to help make any inquiry into the shooting go away," the indictment states.

Kaufman allegedly took a gun from his home and claimed to have found it at the crime scene a day after the shootings, then lied about that gun under oath and in reports, prosecutors said. Dugue is accused of lying to a federal agent when he said he had no concerns about the truth of the officers’ statements. "In fact, he had many ‘red flags’ and ‘question marks’ about the officers’ stories, but he reported the questionable information as fact and relied upon it without qualification," the indictment says.

The charges, unsealed Tuesday, are the culmination of a two-year probe by the federal government. An internal police investigation found no wrongdoing by officers. A state grand jury convened to look into the matter charged seven officers with murder or attempted murder, but a state judge threw out all the charges in 2008.

What will you do with your pets when you decide to evacuate from Hurricane Earl? Will you take them to a shelter or take them with you? Know the answer beforehand. Make sure your family and friends know where you are evacuating to and what routes you plan to take to get there. Make sure that the people that care about you have a non-cell phone (landline) phone number to contact you after reaching your destination. Make a goodies bag and/or ice chest with food and drinks for your trip so you don’t have to routinely stop during your evacuation. No matter whether you are steadfast on evacuating or “riding it out” make sure to keep your vehicles full of gas in the days leading up to landfall. A mandatory evacuation may be ordered a day or so before Hurricane Earl hits and you will have no choice but to evacuate. If you stay in your home or a shelter through the storm, often times, gas is difficult to transport into the area after a hurricane has done its damage.

Be Prepared for Hurricane Earl

The most important action you can take before Hurricane Earl arrives is take the time to be prepared and cover all your bases. Don’t assume that Hurricane Earl will make landfall elsewhere. What can you do in advance? You can create a plan with your family and have decisions made before this hurricane becomes a problem. You can create your own “Hurricane Earl Survival Kit” (especially if you are “riding it out”)

Before Hurricane Earl Strikes, Have a Plan

Before Hurricane Earl ever actually forms, you should discuss particulars with your family, loved ones and friends. You should know what size hurricane would cause you to evacuate (you should always evacuate when ordered to do so by your city officials). If Hurricane Earl becomes a category 3 size storm, would you leave 2 days before or 6 hours? Know the answer beforehand. If Hurricane Earl becomes a large enough storm for you to evacuate, you should expect delays and know multiple evacuation routes if possible. You should have a good understanding of the best evacuation routes, normally provided by disaster agencies and your city government and always take a map with you. If you are evacuating in multiple vehicles, make sure to discuss places to meet along your route if you are separated.