Hurricane warning issued for Fla. coast as storm builds
Miami – A hurricane warning was issued for the southeast Florida coast late Wednesday, and people were advised to take safety precautions in advance of a strike late today by a growing Tropical Storm Katrina.
Katrina was expected to reach hurricane strength as it moved west from the Bahamas and across the Gulf Stream, said forecasters at the National Hurricane Center.
The forecast path appeared centered on the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, but forecasters warned that the storm could easily slip more to the north or south before making landfall early Friday.
The hurricane warning was issued for the southeast Florida coast from Vero Beach to Florida City, as well as inland Lake Okeechobee.
Many in the area – hit by two hurricanes last year – didn’t seem too worried about the slow-moving storm whose worst threat appeared to be flooding. Hardware stores noticed a slight increase in sales, but there didn’t appear to be a crush of customers looking for plywood, water and other supplies.
Katrina formed Wednesday over the Bahamas and was expected to cross Florida before heading into the Gulf of Mexico. It could dump 6-12 inches of rain in the state, with some spots getting up to 20 inches.
WASHINGTON
Cosmetics-makers may use “organic” tag
The government is reversing its decision to yank the “USDA Organic” seal from lotions and lip balms and will now allow cosmetics to carry the round, green label.
An organic-soap company and a consumer group had sued the Agriculture Department for ordering removal of the distinctive seal.
Without the government seal, the word organic is “just a fluff marketing claim,” David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, said Wednesday.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
NIH worker denies making anthrax claim
A National Institutes of Health employee pleaded not guilty Wednesday to allegations that she made an anthrax threat against a county agency during a tax dispute.
Michelle Ledgister, 43, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Ledgister works at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md., as a public health program analyst but does not have access to any dangerous biological agents, a spokesman said.
The Broward County property appraiser’s office revoked a tax break for a house Ledgister owns in Parkland, effectively raising her annual taxes by about $2,300. According to the FBI, Ledgister called the office on July 26, identified herself and said: “You guys now have anthrax spores once again, so do be careful.”
INGLEWOOD, Calif.
Police weigh motive for 4 slayings, suicide
A man who shot and killed four relatives before killing himself this week had been depressed over his own financial and medical problems, police said Wednesday.
Silvano Tringali shot his sister-in-law, her husband and two children at their Inglewood home early Monday with a 9mm handgun.
Tringali, 41, of Lennox was unemployed and struggling with weight and back problems. He also was reportedly upset about the progress of a home that he and his sister-in-law, 35-year-old Nora Anaya, were building next door to her home, which Tringali co-owned.
Sheriff’s officials discovered the five bodies Monday afternoon after Tringali’s wife reported him missing.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua
Ex-official faces trial in money laundering
Former President Arnoldo Aleman will be tried in the United States along with his wife and other family members on money-laundering charges, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday.
The trial will begin next month in Florida, embassy spokesman Preeti Shah said, declining to release additional details. Shah was confirming a report that first appeared in Wednesday’s La Prensa newspaper.
Aleman’s lawyer, Mauricio Martinez, told The Associated Press that Aleman had hired lawyers in the U.S. to defend him.
La Prensa reported that U.S. authorities suspect $740,000 in deposit certificates unfrozen in a Coral Gables, Fla., bank account may be laundered money.
ARUSHA, Tanzania
Peace talks on Darfur postponed to Sept. 15
Peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebel groups about the restive Darfur region have been postponed until Sept. 15, an African Union said Wednesday.
Negotiations between two rebel groups and Khartoum had been scheduled to resume Wednesday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. When talks are reopened, the parties will discuss power sharing and security in western Sudan, African Union envoy Salim Ahmed Salim said.
MADRID, Spain
Afghan winds blamed for crash of chopper
Fierce winds caused the deadly crash of a Spanish military helicopter last week in Afghanistan, Spain’s defense minister said Wednesday, finally ruling out hostile fire.
Defense Minister Jose Bono told a parliamentary commission that strong tail winds caused the low-flying chopper to hit the ground Aug. 16 shortly after it cleared the peak of a hill, killing all 17 soldiers aboard.
A Spanish helicopter flying behind the one that crashed had to pull up abruptly before making a rough emergency landing that injured five men aboard.
