Storm swirls near Bahamas; hurricane watch is issued
San Juan, Puerto Rico – Tropical Storm Chris swept through the eastern Caribbean on Wednesday, forcing cruise ships to change course and tourists to evacuate small islands off the coast of Puerto Rico as it threatened to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.
The storm had top sustained winds of 60 mph as it moved west-northwest past Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Outer bands of the swirling storm began to dump heavy rains on the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday evening.
A hurricane watch was issued in the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, the National Hurricane Center said. The watch meant hurricane conditions of winds of at least 74 mph were possible by late today.
Some 600 tourists evacuated Culebra and Vieques, islands off Puer to Rico’s east coast.
The center of the storm was about 95 miles north of St. Thomas and 125 miles northeast of San Juan late Wednesday night. The storm was generally moving toward the west-northwest at 8 mph, forecasters reported.
Forecasters said it was likely to strengthen and could hit anywhere from south of Cuba to Florida by late this weekend.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.
Space shuttle Atlantis rolled to launch pad
NASA rolled space shuttle Atlantis out to the launch pad Wednesday for an end-of-the-month flight to resume construction on the international space station, which has been on hold for more than three years.
The 4-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building started shortly after 1 a.m. and took less than eight hours.
SEATTLE
Rampage suspect faces hate-crime charge
The man accused in last week’s shooting rampage at the Jewish Federation office that left one woman dead was charged Wednesday with nine felony counts, including violation of the state’s hate-crime law.
Naveed Afzal Haq is charged with aggravated first-degree murder in the death of Pamela Waechter, 58, director of the Jewish charity’s annual fundraising campaign. Five other women were wounded.
OAXACA, Mexico
500 women seize state-run TV station
About 500 women banging spoons against pots and pans seized a state-run television station and broadcast a homemade video Wednesday that showed police kicking protesters out of Oaxaca’s main square last month.
The women took control of Oaxaca’s Channel 9 station Tuesday and held employees for about six hours before releasing them.
It was unclear how long the siege would last, and police were nowhere to be seen near the station Wednesday.
The standoff is the latest by demonstrators who accuse Gov. Ulises Ruiz of rigging his 2004 election victory and violently repressing opposition groups.
LONDON
Guard dog is cruel to Elvis’ teddy bear
A guard dog has ripped apart a collection of rare teddy bears, including one once owned by Elvis Presley, during a rampage at a children’s museum.
“He just went berserk,” said Daniel Medley, general manager of the Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, England, where hundreds of bears were chewed up Tuesday night by the 6-year-old Doberman pinscher named Barney.
During the attack, Barney ripped the head off a brown stuffed bear once owned by the young Presley, leaving fluffy stuffing and bits of bear limbs and heads on the museum floor.
KABUL, Afghanistan
Cabinet nominees include one female
Afghanistan’s president on Wednesday nominated five candidates – including a woman – to fill vacant posts in his now all-male Cabinet.
If approved by lawmakers, the candidates will round out Afghanistan’s first elected Cabinet in its democratic revival since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
President Hamid Karzai nominated the candidates to fill slots left empty when parliament rejected five of the 25 people he chose for his Cabinet in April.
CARLINVILLE, Ill.
Woman, grandson die when house explodes
A powerful explosion destroyed a house early Wednesday, killing a woman and her grandson and injuring three other people, officials said. More than a dozen homes were damaged.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, but crews from the local utility were on the scene, investigating whether there was a gas leak.
