Tropical storm Fausto becomes hurricane

updated 4:36 p.m. ET July 18, 2008

MEXICO CITY - Tropical Storm Fausto has become a hurricane far off Mexico's Pacific coast.

The storm isn't expected to threaten land.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Fausto's maximum sustained winds are 75 mph. The storm's center is about 445 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, and it is expected to move northwest over open ocean.

Even farther out in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Elida continues to weaken, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. The storm is expected to be a depression by Saturday.

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Bertha was headed out over open ocean and away from the U.S. mainland, after battering Bermuda.

By early Thursday, the storm weakened to sustained winds of 60 mph, down from 70 mph late Wednesday.

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