Masses of sardines, anchovies, stripped bass and mackerel surged close to shore on one beach in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco, packed so tightly near the surface they looked like an oil slick from above.
Delighted fishermen rushed out in wooden motor boats, abandoning their rods and nets and simply scooping the fish up with buckets.
“It was so much fun. There were about 20 or 30 fishermen and there were people who came with their kids to take advantage of it,” fisherman Carlos Morales said.
The fishermen attributed the strange phenomenon to the unusual currents unleashed by tsunami that followed the earthquake in Japan.
Experts could not be sure.
Deal off rails
The Obama administration said it was taking back the $2.4 billion allocated to Florida for high-speed trains and is inviting other states to apply for the money.
Transport Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement he will make the funds available through competitive bidding to states eager to develop high-speed rail corridors.
The Florida project would have connected Tampa and Orlando with high-speed trains. But Governor Scott Walker, a Republican, said he did not want to oblige the state to pay for what could be expensive operating costs for the line.
Libya suspends ties with France
Muammar Gaddafi’s government in Libya has suspended diplomatic ties with France after Paris officially recognised the opposition council battling to topple his regime.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Qaid told reporters in Tripoli that “Libya decided to suspend its ties with France” but he gave no explanation or details.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has defended Thursday’s promise to exchange ambassadors with the opposition council.
Clashes kill two
Clashes between police and protesters in a Tunisian mining town killed two people and injured 20, in a new outburst of violence in a country struggling for stability after a revolution that rocked the Arab world.
The deadly protest came as a member of the deposed president’s much-hated family was sentenced to prison, amid efforts by Tunisia’s interim authorities to further distance themselves from the former regime.
Weeks of deadly protests drove out President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January. Violence has largely subsided, but discontent remains.
Civil war find
A cannonball that could be from the US Civil War era has been found at Fort Lee in Virginia and explosives experts have been called in to detonate it.
Spokesman Stephen Baker said the unexploded ordnance was uncovered during a metal detector survey of an area on the 5,900-acre base south of Richmond.
Mr Baker said an explosives ordnance team from Fort Belvoir was en route from northern Virginia.
Fires force evacuations
Authorities said wind-driven grass fires in central Oklahoma have forced the evacuations of schools and homes, destroyed several barns and caused minor smoke-related injuries.
Oklahoma County Sheriff’s spokesman Mark Myers said a high school, middle school and dozens of homes have been evacuated in Harrah, about 32 km east of Oklahoma City.
A separate fire about 40 km south of Oklahoma City near Goldsby burned several barns and forced the evacuation of housing additions near Riverwind Casino.
Pay package details
Kellogg’s former chief executive officer, David Mackay, earned a pay package valued at $6 million in 2010 – down 23 per cent from 2009.
Mr Mackay retired on January 1, and Kellogg executive John Bryant took over as chief executive officer.
Mr Mackay’s salary stayed roughly the same at $1.2 million. The value of his stock and options rose. It was the lack of a performance bonus that drove down his compensation; it cut nearly $2.8 million from Mr Mackay’s pay.