Americans Costa Rica

Emily Eagan had told her family, "I have found paradise." Instead, eight days ago, she and a friend met violent deaths that now threaten the paradise she loved, reawakening old prejudices and resentments yet at the same time uniting this long-neglected community, which is determined to find answers.

With its hopes for a Women's World Cup berth suddenly in doubt, Abby Wambach and the rest of the U.S. national soccer team decided to go back to what they knew best Monday. And those efforts were rewarded with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica that moved the Americans a big step closer to qualifying for next summer's tournament in Germany. "We went back to the old school, old American way," Wambach said. "Work ethic, work hard, defend together and the attack just worked itself out. " The U.S., ranked No. 1 in the world, went into the match in danger of missing the World Cup for the first time, having been denied a direct berth to the 2011 tournament after last week's stunning loss to Mexico in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Cancun, Mexico.

A U.S.-born rancher indicted in Costa Rica for arms and drug trafficking in connection with the Iran-Contra affair has vanished, officials said. A spokesman for the Public Security Ministry said Costa Rican authorities haven't seen John Hull since last Thursday. "I suspect that Mr. Hull has been kidnaped," said Juan Jose Sobrado, Hull's lawyer. Hull, 68, from Evansville, Ind., has lived in Costa Rica for the past 20 years and became a naturalized citizen seven years ago.

Bobby Convey picked a good time to score his first goal as a member of the U.S. national team. Convey scored in the 66th minute Saturday, putting the United States ahead to stay in its 3-2 win over Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup third-place match. Trailing, 2-1, at halftime, the United States responded with two goals in a 10-minute span. Earnie Stewart scored the equalizer in the 56th minute, drilling a shot from 15 yards out that landed in the upper-right corner of the net.

Six people, including two Americans, were wounded when a fragmentation grenade blew up outside the U.S.-Costa Rican Cultural Center in San Jose, Costa Rican authorities said. Red Cross officials identified the Americans as Alice Feister, a professor at the center who is from the Washington, D.C., area, and Shelly Bartain, a student from Chico, Calif. Feister, who was seriously wounded, was reported in fair condition while Bartain was listed in good condition, officials said. U.S.

A federal lending agency has asked the Justice Department to investigate a key member of the covert contra -supply network for "possible civil and criminal fraud" in his company's failure to repay a $375,000 government loan. A company headed by John Hull, an American rancher in Costa Rica who has acknowledged working as a CIA operative in aiding the contras, got the loan in 1984 from the Overseas Private Investment Corp. Hull has denied that any fraud took place. He has helped channel U.

A second suspect in the slayings of two American college students in Costa Rica has been arrested and a third is being sought, police said. Judicial Police Director Jorge Rojas said Jorge Alberto Urbina, 19, was arrested in Barra de Parisminas, a village in the same Caribbean coastal district where Emily Eagen and Emily Howell, both 19, were slain. A 16-year-old suspect was arrested earlier.

A teenage boy was in custody Monday and authorities were seeking two men in the slayings of two U.S. women in Costa Rica earlier this month, officials said. Authorities said a 16-year-old Costa Rican male, who was not identified, allegedly fired one of two guns used in the shootings of Emily Howell of Lexington, Ky., and Emily Eagen of Ann Arbor, Mich., both 19. Their bodies were found on the side of a highway March 13 near the Caribbean coastal town of Puerto Viejo.

The disintegration of the Oliver L. North shipping and arms empire has left at least one expatriate American sadder and wiser after a sale of property that was used for an airstrip went awry. A Panamanian firm set up by North, Udall Research Corp., contracted in 1985 to buy a ranch in northern Costa Rica from Joseph Hamilton, a former U.S. Air Force pilot who owns a textile firm in the capital of San Jose.

John Hull, an American farmer who allegedly used his Costa Rica ranch to assist the Nicaraguan Contras, was arrested on suspicion of spying for the CIA and of arms and drug smuggling, officials said Friday. Hull was picked up at his ranch in the northern province of San Carlos on Thursday and taken to San Jose, the capital, for questioning.

A second suspect in the slayings of two American college students in Costa Rica has been arrested and a third is being sought, police said. Judicial Police Director Jorge Rojas said Jorge Alberto Urbina, 19, was arrested in Barra de Parisminas, a village in the same Caribbean coastal district where Emily Eagen and Emily Howell, both 19, were slain. A 16-year-old suspect was arrested earlier.

A teenage boy was in custody Monday and authorities were seeking two men in the slayings of two U.S. women in Costa Rica earlier this month, officials said. Authorities said a 16-year-old Costa Rican male, who was not identified, allegedly fired one of two guns used in the shootings of Emily Howell of Lexington, Ky., and Emily Eagen of Ann Arbor, Mich., both 19. Their bodies were found on the side of a highway March 13 near the Caribbean coastal town of Puerto Viejo.

Emily Eagan had told her family, "I have found paradise." Instead, eight days ago, she and a friend met violent deaths that now threaten the paradise she loved, reawakening old prejudices and resentments yet at the same time uniting this long-neglected community, which is determined to find answers.

A U.S.-born rancher indicted in Costa Rica for arms and drug trafficking in connection with the Iran-Contra affair has vanished, officials said. A spokesman for the Public Security Ministry said Costa Rican authorities haven't seen John Hull since last Thursday. "I suspect that Mr. Hull has been kidnaped," said Juan Jose Sobrado, Hull's lawyer. Hull, 68, from Evansville, Ind., has lived in Costa Rica for the past 20 years and became a naturalized citizen seven years ago.

John Hull, an American farmer who allegedly used his Costa Rica ranch to assist the Nicaraguan Contras, was arrested on suspicion of spying for the CIA and of arms and drug smuggling, officials said Friday. Hull was picked up at his ranch in the northern province of San Carlos on Thursday and taken to San Jose, the capital, for questioning.

Six people, including two Americans, were wounded when a fragmentation grenade blew up outside the U.S.-Costa Rican Cultural Center in San Jose, Costa Rican authorities said. Red Cross officials identified the Americans as Alice Feister, a professor at the center who is from the Washington, D.C., area, and Shelly Bartain, a student from Chico, Calif. Feister, who was seriously wounded, was reported in fair condition while Bartain was listed in good condition, officials said. U.S.

Bobby Convey picked a good time to score his first goal as a member of the U.S. national team. Convey scored in the 66th minute Saturday, putting the United States ahead to stay in its 3-2 win over Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup third-place match. Trailing, 2-1, at halftime, the United States responded with two goals in a 10-minute span. Earnie Stewart scored the equalizer in the 56th minute, drilling a shot from 15 yards out that landed in the upper-right corner of the net.

With its hopes for a Women's World Cup berth suddenly in doubt, Abby Wambach and the rest of the U.S. national soccer team decided to go back to what they knew best Monday. And those efforts were rewarded with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica that moved the Americans a big step closer to qualifying for next summer's tournament in Germany. "We went back to the old school, old American way," Wambach said. "Work ethic, work hard, defend together and the attack just worked itself out. " The U.S., ranked No. 1 in the world, went into the match in danger of missing the World Cup for the first time, having been denied a direct berth to the 2011 tournament after last week's stunning loss to Mexico in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Cancun, Mexico.

A federal lending agency has asked the Justice Department to investigate a key member of the covert contra -supply network for "possible civil and criminal fraud" in his company's failure to repay a $375,000 government loan. A company headed by John Hull, an American rancher in Costa Rica who has acknowledged working as a CIA operative in aiding the contras, got the loan in 1984 from the Overseas Private Investment Corp. Hull has denied that any fraud took place. He has helped channel U.

The disintegration of the Oliver L. North shipping and arms empire has left at least one expatriate American sadder and wiser after a sale of property that was used for an airstrip went awry. A Panamanian firm set up by North, Udall Research Corp., contracted in 1985 to buy a ranch in northern Costa Rica from Joseph Hamilton, a former U.S. Air Force pilot who owns a textile firm in the capital of San Jose.