Beryl strengthened into a hurricane Saturday as it churned toward the southeastern Caribbean, with forecasters warning it was expected to become a dangerous major storm before reaching Barbados late Sunday or early Monday.

A major hurricane is considered Category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 111 mph. On Saturday night, Beryl was a Category 1 hurricane, marking the farthest east that a hurricane formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

A hurricane warning was issued for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm warning was posted for Martinique and Tobago and a tropical storm watch for Dominica.

Beryl’s center was forecast to pass about 26 miles south of Barbados, said Sabu Best, director of the island’s meteorological service. Forecasters then expect the storm to cross the Caribbean on a path toward Jamaica and eventually Mexico.

On Saturday night, Beryl was centered about 660 miles east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. It was moving west at 22 mph.

“Rapid strengthening is now forecast,” the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Police kill boy on the ground, video shows

Video released late Saturday shows an officer in upstate New York fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy who had been tackled to the ground after he ran from police and pointed a replica handgun at them.

The teen was killed late Friday in Utica after officers stopped two youths a little after 10 p.m. for an unspecified “police investigation,” Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said.

One of them, identified by police as as Nyah Mway, ran and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the pursuing officers, authorities said. It was later determined to be a replica of a Glock 17 Gen 5 handgun with a detachable magazine.

“During a ground struggle” with the teen, one of the officers fired a single shot that struck the boy in the chest, Williams said.

The teen was given “immediate” first aid by the officers and taken to Wynn Hospital, where he died, the chief said.

A bystander video posted to Facebook shows one of the officers chasing after Nyah Mway and tackling him to the ground. It also shows the officer punching the teen as two other officers arrive. A gunshot rings out as the teen is on the ground and the officers quickly stand up.

The police department released the body camera video following a public outcry as the shooting roiled Utica, a city of more than 65,000 that is home to more than 4,200 people from Myanmar.

Israeli embassy in Serbia sees crossbow attack

An attacker with a crossbow wounded a Serbian police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade on Saturday, Serbia’s Interior Ministry said. The officer responded by fatally shooting the assailant.

Both Serbian and Israeli officials said initial indications pointed to terrorism as a motive.

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said in a statement that the attacker fired a bolt at the officer, hitting him in the neck. He said the officer then “used a weapon in self-defense to shoot the attacker, who died as a result of his injuries.”

The policeman was conscious when he was transported to Belgrade’s main emergency hospital and underwent an operation to remove the bolt from his neck. Hospital officials said he was stable after surgery.

Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic visited the wounded officer in the hospital, promising a sweeping crackdown against “terrorists.”

Wildfire near Phoenix advances

More than 200 firefighters were battling a wildfire northeast of Phoenix on Saturday that threatened scores of homes and has forced dozens of residents to evacuate.

No structures have been damaged as the wildfire traversed nearly 6 square miles on the cusp of the Boulder Heights subdivision, said Matthew Wilcox, spokesman for a multi-agency wildfire response team.

There were 275 people combatting the fire Saturday as temperatures surpassed 100 degrees Fahrenheit before midday, with wind gusts expected in the afternoon.

In central California, increasing temperatures and low relative humidity this weekend could result in worsening wildfire conditions for the Fresno June Lightning Complex. The complex — made up of three large fires in eastern Fresno County as well as several smaller fires — was nearly 17 square miles and 42% contained by Saturday morning.

Ally of West favored as Mauritania polls close

Polls closed in Mauritania’s presidential election on Saturday, with the incumbent Mohamed Ould Ghazouani widely expected to win after positioning Mauritania as a strategic ally of the West in a region swept by coups and violence.

Ghazouni, who is seeking reelection on the pledge of providing security and economic growth, is a former army chief and the current president of the African Union. He came to power in 2019 following the first democratic transition in the country’s history, and on Saturday promised to respect the results of the vote.

“The last word belongs to the Mauritanian voters,” Ghazouni said after voting in Ksar, the suburb of the capital. “I commit myself to respecting their choice.”

Saturday’s vote unfolded peacefully, according to observers. The turnout was 40% out of 2 million eligible voters, and partial results were expected on Sunday.

Newsom signs budget to close $46.8B deficit

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed California’s budget to close an estimated $46.8 billion deficit through $16 billion in spending cuts and temporarily raising taxes on some businesses.

Lawmakers passed the budget Wednesday following an agreement between Newsom and legislative leaders in which both sides made concessions and also had wins as they were forced, for the second year in a row, to pare back or delay some progressive policies that had been fueled by record-breaking surpluses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The deficit was about $32 billion in 2023 before growing even bigger this year, with more deficits projected for the future in the nation’s most populous state. Saturday’s signing came just two years after Newsom and Democratic lawmakers were boasting about surpluses that totaled more than $100 billion.

Bolivian general moved to max security prison

The Bolivian general accused of leading a failed coup was sent Saturday to a maximum-security prison as he faces charges of terrorism and starting an armed uprising.

“At some point the truth will be known,” a handcuffed Gen. Juan José Zúñiga told journalists as he was escorted by two guards to the vehicle that will take him to the Chonchocoro maximum-security prison on the outskirts of La Paz.

“The rest are innocent,” he added. Two other former military chiefs, including former navy Vice Adm. Juan Arnez Salvador, were also taken to the same prison.

— From news services