World IN BRIEF : MEXICO : Lidia Weakens Over Land; 1 Electrocuted

Hurricane Lidia smashed houses, knocked out power and phones and forced thousands from their homes, but it claimed only one life when it blew ashore. The storm, which hit coastal fishing and farming villages with gusts of up to 125 m.p.h. before dawn, slowed to a tropical storm as it moved inland, dumping heavy rain over a large swath of northwest Mexico. One man was electrocuted in the town of Navolato, about 20 miles west of Culiacan, and at least 700 people were left homeless in La Cruz de la Elota, a hard-hit town. About 2,000 people were evacuated from the resort town of Mazatlan.