GUATEMALA CITY -- Guatemala's rainy season has claimed the lives of 32 people and left 16 others missing, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction said Monday.

There was damage to 30 schools, 242 roads and 31 bridges, and some 472 homes were at risk of destruction, the agency reported. (Guatemala-Heavy Rains)

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CHICAGO -- Ford Motor Company, a U.S. multinational automobile manufacturer, on Monday halted the construction of a 3.5-billion-U.S.-dollar electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, a city in the central south of the U.S. state of Michigan.

"We're pausing work, and we're going to limit spending on construction at Marshall until we're confident about our ability to competitively run the plant," the Detroit News reported on Monday, citing the company's spokesman T.R. Reid. (Ford-EV Battery Plant-Halt)

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MEXICO CITY -- At least seven people drowned and nine others were missing after an arroyo overflowed in west Mexico's Jalisco state, local authorities said Monday.

"The preliminary outcome is nine people missing, seven dead and three people were rescued, along with damage to roads and homes," the state government posted on social media platform X about the El Cangrejo Arroyo in the town of Autlan de Navarro. (Mexico-Overflow)

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CHICAGO -- Canadian autoworkers' union Unifor picks U.S. automaker General Motors (GM) as the next target company in its bargaining with the three major U.S. automakers, Unifor chief announced Monday.

Talks with GM, which, together with Ford and Stellantis, is often referred to as the "Big Three," will resume Tuesday, Unifor President Lana Payne said in a video message released Monday. (Unifor-General Motors-Bargaining)