Cancun

A Mexican prosecutor has told Cancun reporters that investigators are focusing on "inconsistencies" in a timeline given by a veteran reality-TV producer in the disappearance of his wife, who was found slain this week at a luxury Cancun resort. Bruce Beresford-Redman, 38, was released by state police in Mexico on Friday after being questioned for hours concerning the strangulation death of wife Monica (pictured with Brazilian actor Nerso da Capitinga), the owner of a popular nightclub on Los Angeles' Westside.

What's “in” for spring break this year? Some U.S. spots are luring more of the party-hearty, based on bookings with a top travel agency. Cancun, Mexico, remains the most-booked destination, Miami moved from No. 7 to No. 3 this year, and Las Vegas held on to the No. 10 slot that it hit last year, said Patrick Evans, Dallas-based spokesman for STA Travel , which bills itself as the world's largest student travel agency. Of course, some things haven't changed. Sun, fun and beaches rule, and tough times aren't spoiling the festivities, Evans said.

What's “in” for spring break this year? Some U.S. spots are luring more of the party-hearty, based on bookings with a top travel agency. Cancun, Mexico, remains the most-booked destination, Miami moved from No. 7 to No. 3 this year, and Las Vegas held on to the No. 10 slot that it hit last year, said Patrick Evans, Dallas-based spokesman for STA Travel , which bills itself as the world's largest student travel agency. Of course, some things haven't changed. Sun, fun and beaches rule, and tough times aren't spoiling the festivities, Evans said.

Mexico's Yucatan peninsula got a bit of a break Thursday as Hurricane Rina weakened to a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center . But the rains and choppy seas of the storm expected to hit Cancun and Cozumel on Thursday evening have still taken a toll on tourism. Reuters reports an exodus of 13,000 tourists from Cancun since Tuesday, and more than 90 flights in and out of Cancun's airport canceled Thursday, though the airport remained open as of Thursday morning.

The former mayor and governor of the popular Mexican resort area of Cancun was extradited to the United States to stand trial on allegations of pocketing millions of dollars in bribes to help a notorious drug cartel move more than 200 tons of cocaine across the border, Justice Department officials announced Monday. Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid, dressed in a drab khaki jacket and slacks, was flown late Sunday night aboard a Drug Enforcement Administration jet to New York, where he also is charged with laundering millions of dollars through the now-bankrupt Lehman Bros.

Yet another high-profile drug-prosecution case in Mexico careened toward collapse Wednesday when federal officials were forced to release the former mayor of Cancun, arrested 14 months ago for allegedly consorting with violent cartels. Gregorio "Greg" Sanchez, toting a red Bible, walked out of a jail cell into the summer light around midday and proclaimed, again, his innocence. But federal prosecutors said they planned to charge him with the smuggling of undocumented Cubans.

Those who think that Cancun is safe from the drug wars raging in Mexico aren't keeping current on events there. ["On the Spot," March 22]. The Cancun police chief has been arrested in connection with the murder of a retired Mexican army general, hired by the city. His specialty was battling police corruption. Think that's not drug-related? Warren Cereghino Pacific Palisades

A plane carrying American tourists lost power in one engine and crash-landed in the dense tropical jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula, killing six people and injuring 10, officials said Saturday. The Aerocozumel flight carrying 18 people was returning to the resort island of Cozumel after taking the tourists to view ancient Indian ruins at Chichen Itza, 115 miles west of Cozumel. It crashed Friday afternoon about two miles outside the Playa del Carmen airport, about 125 miles northeast of the pre-Columbian ruins at Chichen Itza, the airline said.

"Survivor" producer Bruce Beresford-Redman, who was being sought for questioning by Mexican authorities, has returned to Los Angeles, according to his lawyer.  Mexican law enforcement officials had told the producer to remain in Mexico following the death of his wife last month, when the couple was vacationing in Cancun. On Sunday, however, attorney Richard Hirsch issued a statement saying Beresford-Redman had returned to Los Angeles to be with his children and to attend to family and personal matters.

Months before her death last year, Monica Beresford-Redman told friends and family members that her husband was having an affair and that she had moved money out of their account and planned to leave him, according to documents filed Monday in federal court in Los Angeles. Mexican authorities seeking to extradite reality TV producer Bruce Beresford-Redman to stand trial on charges that he killed his wife at a Cancun resort detail a poisonous relationship, expensive sex hotline sessions and repeated attempts at reconciliation.

A weakened Hurricane Rina continued churning toward Mexico's Caribbean coast Wednesday, prompting authorities in the popular tourist zone to close ports and schools ahead of the storm. Rina, downgraded to a Category 1 storm with top sustained winds of 85 mph, was expected to make landfall around noon Thursday on the island of Cozumel, whose nearby reefs are favored by divers. The resorts of Cancun were also in the hurricane's projected path. Coastal communities were told to expect the first hurricane-force winds and heavy rain Thursday morning.

Hurricane Rina began to sweep toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, prompting airlines to warn passsengers about possible flight disruptions and forcing cruise ships to change their itineraries. The hurricane, currently a Category 2, is expected to make landfall in the resort town of Cancun on Thursday, Reuters reports. The hurricane warning covers the east coast of the Yucatan from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun. Meanwhile Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines have issued weather updates on their websites.

A federal judge has issued a ruling supporting her decision to extradite a former "Survivor" TV show producer to Mexico, where he faces charges in the killing of his wife at a luxury Cancun resort. In the 17-page ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian said she doubted the credibility of Bruce Beresford-Redman and said his 6-year-old daughter's recollections do not disprove that a fight may have occurred the day he last saw his wife alive. Beresford-Redman's attorneys said they will seek to have Chooljian's decision overturned by a higher court.

Yet another high-profile drug-prosecution case in Mexico careened toward collapse Wednesday when federal officials were forced to release the former mayor of Cancun, arrested 14 months ago for allegedly consorting with violent cartels. Gregorio "Greg" Sanchez, toting a red Bible, walked out of a jail cell into the summer light around midday and proclaimed, again, his innocence. But federal prosecutors said they planned to charge him with the smuggling of undocumented Cubans.

A federal judge found probable cause Tuesday to extradite a former producer of the "Survivor" TV show to Mexico to face charges that he killed his wife at a Cancun resort and dumped her body in a sewage tank. A shackled Bruce Beresford-Redman, 41, showed little emotion as U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian announced the finding. "Based on the totality of the circumstances," there is probable cause to find that the producer "committed the aggravated homicide of Monica Beresford-Redman," Chooljian said.

A reality TV producer is hoping his 6-year-old daughter will be allowed to testify at his extradition hearing this week and unravel authorities' theory that he murdered his wife in their Cancun, Mexico, suite. Bruce Beresford-Redman, who made a name for himself overseeing the "Survivor," has seemingly adopted the show's title as his mantra as authorities seek to extradite him to Mexico on charges that he suffocated Monica Beresford-Redman in April 2010 and dumped her body into a wastewater treatment tank.

Mexico's Yucatan peninsula got a bit of a break Thursday as Hurricane Rina weakened to a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center . But the rains and choppy seas of the storm expected to hit Cancun and Cozumel on Thursday evening have still taken a toll on tourism. Reuters reports an exodus of 13,000 tourists from Cancun since Tuesday, and more than 90 flights in and out of Cancun's airport canceled Thursday, though the airport remained open as of Thursday morning.

Months before her death last year, Monica Beresford-Redman told friends and family members that her husband was having an affair and that she had moved money out of their account and planned to leave him, according to documents filed Monday in federal court in Los Angeles. Mexican authorities seeking to extradite reality TV producer Bruce Beresford-Redman to stand trial on charges that he killed his wife at a Cancun resort detail a poisonous relationship, expensive sex hotline sessions and repeated attempts at reconciliation.

An Emmy-nominated reality TV producer accused of killing his wife at a Cancun resort earlier this year was arrested Tuesday by U.S. authorities at his Rancho Palos Verdes home. Bruce Beresford- Redman, 38, was home alone at the time of his arrest and offered no resistance to the U.S. marshals and FBI agents who took him into custody. His arrest comes five months after Mexican authorities accused him of murdering his wife. Monica Beresford-Redman, 41, co-owner of Zabumba, a popular eatery and nightclub in Palms, was found April 8 in a septic tank at the luxury hotel where the couple was staying.