YUMA, Ariz. — More thorough initial health screenings for migrants, as well as secondary screenings, will be held for every child in Border Patrol custody following the deaths of two Guatemalan children this month, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was visiting Yuma on Saturday, a day after her trip to meet border officials and medical staff in El Paso, Texas.

“The system is clearly overwhelmed, and we must work together to address this humanitarian crisis and protect vulnerable populations,” Nielsen said. She called on Congress to “act with urgency.”

Late Friday, El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said he was among those who met with Nielsen, saying they discussed “our immigration needs on the border.” The statement from Margo, a Republican, did not mention the deaths of migrant children or whether it was discussed.

The trip came days after the death of 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo in Alamogordo, N.M.

Felipe was the second Guatemalan child to die in government custody in three weeks. A 7-year-old girl died in El Paso earlier this month.

Nielsen has called the death “deeply concerning and heartbreaking” and requested medical help from other government agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard.

President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for migrant deaths at the border Saturday. He tweeted the deaths are the fault of “their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally.”

Sears chairman’s hedge fund makes $4.4B bid to save retailer

NEW YORK — Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund said it submitted a last-minute bid Friday valued at $4.4 billion to keep the struggling retailer from being liquidated.

Transform Holdco LLC, an affiliate of the ESL Investments hedge fund that Lampert heads, said it hoped to keep 425 stores open. The bid includes $1.3 billion in financing from three institutions, ESL said.

ESL said that should the $4.4 billion bid be accepted, “we expect that the company that emerges from bankruptcy would offer employment to up to 50,000 associates.”

Earlier on Friday, Sears said it was closing 80 more stores as it teeters on the brink of liquidation. Once the nation’s largest department store chain, Sears had faced a deadline of Friday for bids for its remaining stores to avert closing down completely.

Note: Britain’s queen ‘naturally’ wanted a new royal yacht

LONDON — A newly discovered note in the U.K.’s National Archives shows Queen Elizabeth II let government officials know she would welcome a replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia once it was decommissioned.

The 1995 note is unusual because the queen is required to remain politically neutral and avoid lobbying the government on specific requests.

The message from her deputy private secretary to the Cabinet office said Elizabeth would “naturally very much welcome” a new royal yacht.

But it made clear palace officials recognized the decision had to be made by government ministers, not the queen.

The Royal Yacht Britannia was in service from 1954 to 1997. The queen was photographed shedding a tear when the vessel was retired.

Kevin Spacey asks permission to skip Mass. court appearance

BOSTON — Lawyers for Kevin Spacey are asking a judge to allow the actor to skip his arraignment on sexual assault charges in a Massachusetts courthouse next month.

The Boston Globe reports that Spacey’s attorneys have filed a motion asking to excuse his presence at a Jan. 7 hearing in Nantucket District Court. The reason wasn’t disclosed. Prosecutors asked the judge to deny the motion. The judge did not immediately rule.

Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Michael Giardino wrote that Spacey’s appearance is required under state rules for criminal case procedure.

The 59-year-old is charged with felony indecent assault and battery. Prosecutors say he groped an 18-year-old man in a restaurant in 2016.

Yemen’s Shiite rebels hand over control of key port

SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s Shiite rebels on Saturday handed over control of the main port in the Red Sea city of Hodeida to the country’s navy and coast guard under U.N. supervision, security officials said, in a significant step in the implementation of a deal reached during peace talks in Sweden this month.

The handover is the first in a series of confidence-building measures agreed to in Sweden that could pave the way for a political settlement of Yemen’s 4-year-old war pitting the Iran-aligned rebels known as Houthis against the internationally recognized government backed since 2015 by a Saudi-led coalition.

The two sides have observed a cease-fire in Hodeida for more than a week, ending months of fierce fighting. A U.N. team led by a Dutch officer arrived recently in the city to monitor the cease-fire.

Ore. hotel fires 2 workers for ‘mistreatment’ of black guest

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon hotel said it fired two of its employees for “mistreatment” of a black man who was talking on his cellphone in the lobby when he was asked to leave a week ago.

DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Portland tweeted Saturday it has terminated the workers’ employment. The hotel didn’t identify the employees.

Jermaine Massey accused the hotel of racially profiling him after a security guard called police to remove him from the lobby Dec. 22. He was staying at the hotel, and his attorneys say they want a public explanation and intend to pursue legal action, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

On Friday, the hotel apologized to Massey on Twitter, saying the employees involved had been placed on leave and an investigation would be conducted.

Terror suspects: Dutch and German police on Saturday arrested five people suspected of preparing a terrorist act in the Netherlands.

Dutch police said in a statement that four suspects were detained in Rotterdam and officers searched multiple locations.

Yemeni boy dies: The 2-year-old son of a Yemeni woman who sued for a waiver from the Trump administration’s travel ban to be with the ailing boy in the U.S. has died, an advocacy group said. Abdullah Hassan died Friday at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, where his father, a U.S. citizen, had brought him.