• Police: Suspect held over slayings of S. Carolina couple on Caribbean island of St. Maarten

    By The Associated Press

    PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten -- St. Maarten police on Sunday arrested a suspect in the slayings of a South Carolina couple whose slashed bodies were found in their beachfront condominium on the tiny Dutch Caribbean territory.

    Police spokesman Ricardo Henson said the male suspect was arrested before dawn Sunday and has not been charged yet.

    Citing the territory's privacy rules, Henson declined to give further details about the suspect, saying police will issue a statement "as soon as more information can be divulged."

    The bodies of Michael and Thelma King were found Friday in their condominium at the Ocean Club Resort on St. Maarten, a 16-square-mile territory with about 50,000 inhabitants that shares a small island with the French dependency of St. Martin.

    Tied to a chair
    Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos said both Americans appeared to have suffered fatal stab wounds. The woman was found tied to a chair, and the man was lying on the floor, partially over an overturned chair. Both were in their 50s.

    Autopsies were expected to be conducted Monday, according to Mos. Relatives of the slain couple have arrived in the territory.

    Friends said the Kings were part-time residents of St. Maarten and owned several homes. They also owned a condominium in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

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    Terry Tamblyn, a resident of South Carolina's coastal city of Isle of Palms, told The Post and Courier newspaper that King was a retired insurance executive who later started a successful printing business that he sold. He said King also owned a couple of restaurants on St. Maarten.

    Local restaurant owner Topper Daboul has told The Associated Press that he and Michael King were building a rum factory together on the territory.

    'Pains everyone'
    Daboul said he last saw King on Wednesday afternoon and "some other friends had drinks with them that night."

    He said he wasn't able to reach the Kings on the phone Thursday so he drove to their house the next day and banged on the door. He said he asked a person on the premises to climb over a fence to see if anyone was in the house.

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    Daboul said the person reported a lifeless man leaning over a chair inside the house.

    Shortly after the slayings were announced, the St. Maarten government said "every government resource is being brought into play to investigate and solve this case."

    Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said she was "shocked" by the murders.

    Police said roughly 25 officers were part of the investigative team.

    The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association said it's outraged by the murders, which "pains everyone in the community deeply."

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  • Tropical Storm Isaac threatens Haiti, Dominican Republic

    Tampa, Fla., the site of the Republican National Convention, remains vulnerable in the event of a storm surge, bound by water to the south and west that could put much of the city under water. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

    By NBC News, Weather.com and wire reports

    Updated at 1:15 a.m. ET: Tropical Storm Isaac brought rain and gusty winds to Puerto Rico on Thursday as it passed south of the U.S. territory. It is forecast to remain a tropical storm after crossing into the Dominican Republic and Haiti and then passing over Cuba into the Florida Straits, the National Hurricane Center said.

    Forecasters said it was too soon to gauge Isaac's potential impact on Tampa on Florida's Gulf Coast, where the Republican National Convention is to run from Monday through Thursday.

    Related: Track Tropical Storm Isaac

    Some computer models showed Isaac shifting slightly to the west and eventually moving parallel to Florida's western coastline. Others forecast the storm to make landfall in South Florida and then move inland.

    Isaac was centered late Thursday evening about 145 miles southwest of the Dominican Republic's capital of Santo Domingo, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm had top sustained winds of 45 miles per hour.

    The storm is expected to dump between 8 and 12 inches of rain over parts of Hispaniola, with total accumulations up to 20 inches in some areas, the Hurricane Center said.

    The Bahamas issued tropical storm warnings for its southeastern areas; Cuba issued tropical storm warnings for several provinces, including Guantanamo.

    The largest threat was the potential for extremely heavy rainfall over the islands near Isaac's path, weather.com reported.

    The Red Cross was ready in Haiti to help evacuate people to shelters and camps but was in a "wait and see" mode, Jerry Anderson, senior director of international services, told NBC News.  

    Residents and visitors of the northern Caribbean, Yucatan Peninsula, southeastern United States and the central/eastern Gulf Coast should watch the progress of Isaac closely over the next week or more, weather.com reported.

    With nearly 400,000 people still living in evacuation tents, a hurricane or even a tropical storm could lead to deaths and more damage to the already fragile country. NBC's Mark Potter reports.

    Get the latest on this story from weather.com

    As the storm approached, Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno declared a state of emergency, canceled classes, closed government agencies and activated the National Guard.

    The government also froze prices on basic necessities such as food, batteries and other supplies and prepared emergency shelters at schools and other facilities.

    Heavy rainfall, flooding and mudslides will be threats in all of the northern Caribbean islands regardless of how strong the system becomes, weather.com reported.

    Isaac may also threaten U.S. energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico, weather experts said.

    From weather.com: Isaac's looming US threat

    At the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in southeast Cuba on Wednesday, authorities said Isaac forced the postponement of pretrial hearings that were to begin on Thursday for five prisoners accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks.

    The U.S. military was preparing flights to evacuate the base of lawyers, paralegals, interpreters, journalists, rights monitors and family members of 9/11 victims who had traveled there for the hearings.

    In Key West, Fla., Mayor Craig Cates told NBC News that officials were monitoring Isaac but hadn't made any decisions about evacuating because the storm hadn't yet strengthened. All agencies were preparing in case an evacuation would be needed if the storm gets strong, he said.

    The tropical storm may also cause damage in Tampa, Fla., where the GOP convention will take place. Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore reports.

    From weather.com: Track Isaac's path

    Coordinating Meteorologist Tom Moore at The Weather Channel said it was difficult to predict how Isaac would affect Tampa when the Republican National Convention to nominate Mitt Romney gets under way on Monday.

    Because the storm was tracking farther south than earlier predictions, it could track to the west side of the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, he said. That would leave Tampa facing rain and thunderstorms with20-30 mph winds gusting up to 40 mph on Monday.

    Tropical Storm Isaac churns over Caribbean, could threaten GOP convention

    Orange juice prices rise
    Florida has not been hit by a major hurricane since 2005 and forecasts showed Isaac was not expected to strengthen beyond a weak Category 1, with top sustained wind speeds of about 80 mph.

    The threat to Florida triggered a nearly 6 percent jump in orange juice prices on Wednesday as they surged to a six-week high in trading in New York.

    Florida produces more than 75 percent of the U.S. orange crop and accounts for about 40 percent of the world's orange juice supply.

    Lurking behind Isaac, the hurricane center said Thursday another tropical depression grew into Tropical Storm Joyce, the 10th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

    Located about 1,280 miles east of the Leeward Islands, it was packing winds of 40 mph and was moving northwest at 14 mph on Thursday afternoon.

    Forecasts predicted it will eventually veer toward the open Atlantic and away from the Caribbean. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect for Joyce.

    Reuters and weather.com contributed to this report.

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  • Tropical Storm Isaac churns over Caribbean, could threaten GOP convention

    Hurricane watches are active throughout the Caribbean, and the U.S. Navy has put forces at Guantanamo on alert. Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore reports.

    By NBC News staff and wire services

    As Tropical Storm Isaac makes its way over the Caribbean on Wednesday, forecasters expect it to turn into a hurricane later this week, sparking worries that it could threaten next week's Republican National Convention in Florida.


    The storm is getting better organized as it moves west at 21 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph as of Wednesday morning. Forecasters predict Issac could turn into a hurricane by Friday. 

    Related: Click here to track Isaac's path

    Schools and government offices are closed across much of the Caribbean Wednesday as Isaac was positioned 140 miles east of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

    In addition to much of the Caribbean, tropical storm warnings are also in effect for Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and the south coast of the Dominican Republic are all under a hurricane watch.

    Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit encouraged people to stay home from work on Wednesday, according to the AP.

    "I want us all to be safe," he said. "I don't want lives to be lost. I have listened to the advice of the experts and so I am asking all to stay indoors." 

    TODAY's Al Roker tracks Tropical Storm Isaac as it swirls in the Atlantic and discusses whether or not the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., will be plagued with heavy rains and high winds.

    Puerto Rico is also bracing for the worst: Gov. Luis Fortuno activated the National Guard and declared a state of emergency, the AP reported.

    By Wednesday evening, the storm's center is expected to be over the Leeward Islands, and it will move toward the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba as a hurricane later this week, according to the AP.

    AFP PHOTO / NASA GSFC GOES PROJECT

    Tropical Storm Isaac strengthened on Wednesday and looked set to become a hurricane as it churned through the Caribbean.

    National Hurricane Center computer models indicate that Isaac could move northwest and eventually reach Florida by Monday morning — the same day as the start of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

    Next week's GOP convention is expected to attract thousands of Republicans to nominate Mitt Romney for president and Paul Ryan for vice president. While it's too soon to tell whether Isaac will hit Tampa directly, senior hurricane specialist Lixion Avila, with the National Hurricane Center, told Reuters that Tampa is not out of harm's way.

    "With the convention or without the convention, I can tell you this is August 22, hurricane season, and normally anywhere in Florida or the Gulf of Mexico we should monitor any system that forms," Avila said.

    Sept. 1: On the first day of its convention, the GOP tries to prove it is capable of responding to a natural disaster. According to NBC's Andrea Mitchell, the party is confident they can get back to normal after Gustav.

    The Weather Channel's Bryan Norcross wrote a warning post on his Facebook page Wednesday: "Okay Florida ... it's time to wake up. Isaac is getting organized and the odds are increasing that it's going to be a problem ... a big enough problem that preparation is likely to be required."

    Both Tampa and GOP officials say there are contingency plans in case the storm hits. FEMA has water and meals ready in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    In 2008, Hurricane Gustav churning toward New Orleans disrupted the Republican convention that was getting under way in Minneapolis. President George W. Bush Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Joe Lieberman canceled Sept. 1 speeches. Bush delivered a speech by satellite the next day. Aides to Sen. John McCain, the party’s presidential nominee, chartered a jet so Gulf Coast delegates could return home, according to media reports at the time. The storm largely spared New Orleans,  battered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but came ashore as a Category 2 hurricane and spawned damaging tornadoes.

    Elsewhere, forecasters are also keeping an eye on Tropical Depression 10, which has formed over the eastern tropical Atlantic.

    The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • Justice Breyer, wife robbed on Caribbean island

    Investigators on the Caribbean island of Nevis are on the hunt for the machete-armed man who robbed Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at his vacation home. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

    By NBC News

    Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, his wife and several family friends were robbed by a person with a knife at the Breyer vacation home on the Caribbean island of Nevis, the court confirmed to NBC News on Monday.

    The local St Kitts Nevis Observer newspaper described the attacker as wielding a machete.

    About 9 p.m. ET last Thursday night, Justice Breyer, his wife and houseguests were robbed by one person, wearing a mask and wielding a knife, a court official said. The robber made off with about $1,000 in cash.

    No one was hurt in the incident.

    Previously filed financial disclosure forms as well as articles and tourist websites acknowledge that Justice Breyer is a regular vacationer to the island and has owned a home there for quite some time.

    The Nevis police department is investigating and says there are no suspects or arrests at this time.

    Local news reports as well as the police acknowledge other robberies and break-ins in the area around the same time.

    It’s the third time in recent years that a Supreme Court justice has been a crime victim.

    Back in 2004, Justice David Souter suffered minor injuries when he was mugged by a group of young men while jogging.

    And in 1996, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had her purse snatched near the Kennedy Center while walking with her husband and daughter. She was not hurt in the incident.

    Several of the tropical islands have some of the highest reported murder rates in the world, creating a danger for the millions of U.S. tourists who flock to the area each year. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

    Crime in the Carribbean, and partcularly on Nevis, has climbed dramatically in recent years, according to the United Nations.

    Over the past year, Americans living on Nevis say they've had enough of the frequent home invasions.

    One American expatriate, who no longer wants to be named because he says he's been harassed by local officials, started his own crime-reporting service for people on the island, because residents claim police are inadequate.

    Last year citizens met with police, and staged a rally, to try to call attention to the crime problem.

    People are furious, according to NBC News. Some Americans who own properties on the island no longer want to retire there because of the crime -- and they say the crime rate has lowered their property values.

    Mike Kosnar, Michelle Kosinski and Pete Williams contributed to this report.

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