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Gustav swells to dangerous Cat 3 storm off Cuba

This image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Gustav taken at 6:55 a.m. EDT Saturday Aug. 30, 2008. Gustav swelled to a fearsome Category 3 hurricane early Saturday with winds of 115 mph as it approached western Cuba on a track to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast three years after Hurricane Katrina. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami called the storm 'dangerous' and said it had reached the status of a major hurricane, the second one of this Atlantic season after Bertha in July. 5 a.m. EDT Saturday, Gustav's eye had left the Caymans behind and was about 255 miles east-southeast of the western tip of Cuba. It was moving northwest near 12 mph. (AP Photo/NOAA)
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AP - 56 minutes ago

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands - Gustav swelled to a fearsome Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph as it shrieked toward the heartland of Cuba's cigar industry Saturday on a track to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast three years after Hurricane Katrina.

  • Artist Robert Indiana poses Thursday, Aug. 29, 2008 at his studio in Vinalhaven, Maine. Indiana, who in the 1960s created the pop icon LOVE, now has created a similar image with HOPE, with proceeds going to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Joel Page)
    Maine artist creates HOPE image decades after LOVE AP - Sat Aug 30, 6:32 AM ET

    PORTLAND, Maine - The Maine artist who brought LOVE to the world is doing the same with HOPE.

  • In this undated image rendered from video and provided by Extra, Rielle Hunter is shown during an interview. Edwards' political action committee paid $100,000 in a four-month span to a newly formed firm run by Rielle Hunter, who directed the production of four Web videos. (AP Photo/Extra)
    John Edwards to speak at Hofstra without wife AP - Sat Aug 30, 6:30 AM ET

    RALEIGH, N.C. - In a return to the public stage, John Edwards has confirmed plans to talk politics a month after admitting to an extramarital affair. But his wife won't be at his side.

  • Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks during an interview with Germany's ARD television in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia will not be isolated over its conduct in Georgia. The Russian prime minister is also warning Europe not to the bidding of the United States. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Pool)
    Georgia to cut diplomatic ties with Moscow AP - Fri Aug 29, 5:57 PM ET

    TBILISI, Georgia - Georgia severed diplomatic ties with Moscow on Friday to protest the presence of Russian troops on its territory. Russia said the move would only make things worse.

  • A woman walks past posters with depictions of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic along a main street in the Bosnian Serb capital Banja Luka, August 29, 2008. The posters read, 'Rise old Serbia and great Russia for an innocent man.' (Ranko Cukovic/Reuters)
    Karadzic makes defiant stand before UN court AP - Fri Aug 29, 1:09 PM ET

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic made a defiant stand before a U.N. court preparing to try him on genocide charges, refusing to enter pleas Friday and branding the tribunal a NATO proxy out to "liquidate" him.

  • Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer swings for a single against the Oakland Athletics during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
    Minnesota's Mauer, Morneau do in A's in 12-2 rout AP - 35 minutes ago

    OAKLAND, Calif. - Joe Mauer and the Minnesota Twins have played enough nail-biters lately that they welcomed a lopsided victory.

  • The center of Tropical Storm Gustav is pictured over the Caribbean Sea in this NOAA satellite image taken early August 29, 2008. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Handout/Reuters)
    Powerful Gustav roars toward Cuba, gulf Reuters - 23 minutes ago

    HAVANA (Reuters) - Hurricane Gustav, now a major storm picking up steam over warm sea waters, roared toward western Cuba on Saturday en route to the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico after a deadly pass through the Caribbean.

  • A shopper walks past a store display in New York July 1, 2008. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
    Consumer spending flags, but confidence rises Reuters - Fri Aug 29, 3:00 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Personal income tumbled unexpectedly in July and inflation-adjusted spending shrank as government economic stimulus waned, but consumer spirits rose this month, a hint the economy may muddle through its woes.

  • Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (C) and her husband Todd (R) are greeted by supporters after she was chosen as the Republican vice presidential running mate for Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain at a campaign event in Dayton, Ohio August 29, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)
    McCain picks Palin as surprise No. 2 Reuters - Fri Aug 29, 3:31 PM ET

    DAYTON, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican John McCain made a surprise choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on Friday, adding a political unknown to the presidential ticket who could help him appeal to women voters.

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    Georgia says Russia troops blocking refugee return Reuters - 25 minutes ago

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  • Egyptian security forces stand guard at the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, July 2, 2008. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
    Hundreds leave Gaza as Egypt opens border Reuters - 1 hour, 46 minutes ago

    GAZA (Reuters) - Egypt opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, allowing hundreds of people to leave the Hamas-controlled territory, Palestinian officials said.

  • Lenders mulling new offer in Alabama debt standoff Reuters - Fri Aug 29, 7:31 PM ET

    BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Alabama's Jefferson County and lenders pulled back from the brink of a threatened bankruptcy filing on Friday after the county proposed restructuring $3.2 billion of soured sewer debt.

  • Supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) clash with riot police outside the Government House in Bangkok August 29, 2008. (Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)
    "I will never resign," says besieged Thai PM Reuters - 28 minutes ago

    BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej vowed on Saturday not to quit in the face of intensifying protests aimed at toppling his seven-month-old government.

  • Iraqi soldiers listen during a briefing of the security preparations for the hand over of the Anbar province in Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad, August 30, 2008. (Mohanned Faisal/Reuters)
    Iraq election law must pass mid-Sept for 2008 vote Reuters - 1 hour, 17 minutes ago

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament must pass a contentious elections law by mid-September in order to allow anticipated provincial polls to be held this year, the Electoral Commission said on Saturday.

  • Graphic presentation of the upcoming US Republican convention. Barack Obama and John McCain are to hold rival rallies in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania as the race for the White House intensified with McCain's surprise pick of Alaska's little-known governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate.(AFP/Graphic)
    In White House race, battle of VPs begins AFP - Sat Aug 30, 6:49 AM ET

    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AFP) - Barack Obama and John McCain were to hold rival rallies in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania Saturday as the race for the White House intensified with McCain's surprise pick of Alaska's little-known governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate.

  • Flood-affected villagers sit in a rescue boat after they were rescued by the Indian army in Sitpur, in India's northern state of Bihar, August 28. More than 300,000 people trapped in India's worst floods in 50 years have been rescued but nearly double that number remain stranded without food or water, officials said.(AFP/File/Diptendu Dutta)
    Massive evacuation as millions hit by India floods AFP - 2 hours, 23 minutes ago

    PATNA, India (AFP) - More than 300,000 people trapped in India's worst floods in 50 years have been rescued but nearly double that number remain stranded without food or water, officials said Saturday.

  • A woman carries a boy as she crosses a flooded street in Havana on August 26. Hurricane Gustav gained strength as it bore down on western Cuba after ripping through the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica and leaving 85 people dead in its wake.(AFP/File/Str)
    Gustav becomes 'dangerous' as it bears down on Cuba AFP - 1 hour, 12 minutes ago

    HAVANA (AFP) - Hurricane Gustav swelled into a "dangerous" category three hurricane Saturday as it bore down on Cuba after ripping through the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica, killing 85 people.

  • Interactive graphic on the Caucasus, highlighting the main zones of conflict and tension between ethnic groups in the region.(AFP iactiv)
    Russia reaches out to EU as Georgia calls for sanctions AFP - 1 hour, 57 minutes ago

    MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged the European Union to ignore calls to punish Moscow over the Georgia conflict as Tbilisi appealed Saturday for targeted punishment of the Russian leadership.

  • A woman enjoys a beer on a night out. Alcoholism among women in Sweden rose by 50 percent between 2003 and 2007 as beer, wine and spirits have become more accessible in the country long known for its restrictive alcohol policy, a report written by the head of the Swedish National Institute of Public Health's alcohol and drug division has said.(AFP/File/Chris Young)
    Sharp rise in alcoholism among Swedish women: report AFP - Sat Aug 30, 5:25 AM ET

    STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Alcoholism among women in Sweden rose by 50 percent between 2003 and 2007 as beer, wine and spirits have become more accessible in the country long known for its restrictive alcohol policy, a report on Saturday said.

  • Delivery of a second Airbus A380 to Emirates, the airline of the United Arab Emirates, will suffer a further delay of two months, French daily Le Figaro reported Saturday. Emirates put its first giant A380 into service on August 1 with a direct flight from Dubai to New York.(AFP/File/Robyn Beck)
    New delay for Emirates Airbus 380 AFP - 48 minutes ago

    PARIS (AFP) - Delivery of a second Airbus A380 to Emirates, the airline of the United Arab Emirates, may suffer a further delay of several weeks, an Emirates spokeswoman told AFP on Saturday.

  • Dresdner Bank offices pictured in Frankfurt. The German insurance giant is in "advanced talks" on the future of its Dresdner Bank unit, "that may or may not lead to a deal," it has said in a brief statement(AFP/DDP/File/Thomas Lohnes)
    Allianz in talks to sell Dresdner Bank AFP - 45 minutes ago

    FRANKFURT (AFP) - German insurance giant Allianz is in "advanced talks" on the future of its Dresdner Bank unit, "that may or may not lead to a deal," it said Friday in a brief statement to financial markets.

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