The closure - on what is a major shipping route between the Midwest and the Gulf of Mexico - could last days and the cleanup could take weeks, said Capt. Lincoln Stroh, the Coast Guard chief in New Orleans.

The collision between the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker Tintomara and the barge pushed by the tug Mel Oliver happened about 1:30 a.m. CT Wednesday, splitting the barge nearly in half and dumping more than 419,000 gallons of oil into the river, said the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard said Wednesday evening that the tug had no properly licensed crew on board at the time of the collision. No injuries were reported, and the National Transportation Safety Board said it has dispatched investigators to probe the cause of the accident. 

Authorities had feared the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since last September could produce up to 20 inches of rain in some areas, possibly breaching levees in the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley. But shortly before coming ashore, the Category 2 storm meandered 35 miles north of the border, veering away from the flood walls.

"The levees are holding up just fine," said Johnny Cavazos, emergency coordinator for Cameron County. "There is no indication right now that they are going to crest."

Although the system weakened after striking land on the resort area of South Padre Island, one official cautioned that the danger had not passed.

"It's still very early in the storm," said Sally Spener, a spokeswoman with the International Boundary and Water Commission.

A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official Tuesday contradicted EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson's congressional testimony on one of the administration's key global warming decisions, saying the White House  ordered Johnson to block California's bid to regulate vehicles' tailpipe emissions.

On Jan. 24, Johnson told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee under oath that he had made the decision on his own after determining there was no compelling evidence to justify California's plans. "The responsibility for making the decision for California rests with me and solely with me," Johnson said at the time. "I made the decision. It was my decision. It was the right decision."

Tuesday, however, former EPA deputy associate administrator Jason K. Burnett - who resigned last month and has since divulged key details about how President Bush and his deputies have influenced the agency's decisions on climate policy -- testified before the committee that Johnson had concluded that California's request was legally justified - until White House officials ordered him to reverse the decision.

California had sought a waiver under the Clean Air Act to implement rules aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles by 30 percent between 2009 and 2016. Johnson announced in late December that he would not grant the waiver, effectively blocking 17 other states that had either adopted or pledged to implement California's proposed rules.

Burnett told the panel that Johnson had concluded that California had met the legal requirement for a waiver by showing it faced "compelling and extraordinary circumstances" in light of the threat that climate change poses to the state.

On the sixth day of his international trip, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee shuttled between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem and the West Bank and visited Israel's iconic Holocaust msueum. He then boarded a helicopter for the short ride to Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip and has been the frequent target of Qassam rockets fired by Palestinian militants there.

After meeting with local officials and hearing about the damage caused by the rockets, Obama told assembled reporters it is in "Israel's strong national interest to have a lasting peace with the Palestinians."

"The threats to Israel's security begin in Sderot, but they don't end there," Obama said, citing Tuesday's tractor attack in downtown Jerusalemand the ongoing possibility of nuclear weapons in Iran. "A nuclear Iran would be a game-changing situation, not just in the Middle East but around the world."

Obama reiterated his willingness to both pressure and negotiate with Iran, using what he called a series of "big sticks and big carrots." That stance worries Israeli leaders across the political spectrum at a time when Iran's nuclear ambitions are viewed here as an existential threat. But Israeli opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu told Israel Radio that he and Obama found common ground when they met Wednesday morning.

Aguirre said he plans to file similar lawsuits against Washington Mutual Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Wachovia Corp. in an effort to make the lenders negotiate with mortgage borrowers facing foreclosure.

"We would like to see San Diego become a foreclosure sanctuary," said Aguirre.

The report in Izvestia, which could not be confirmed, prompted memories of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war after Nikita Khrushchev put nuclear missiles on the Caribbean island. The weapons were eventually withdrawn in an apparent Soviet climb-down, but President John F. Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry declined to comment on the report Monday, but did not deny it. Izvestia is often a forum for strategic leaks by Kremlin and other officials.

"While they are deploying the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, our strategic bombers will already be landing in Cuba," Izvestia quoted the source as saying.

It was unclear if the source was suggesting that Russia would reopen a base in Cuba or merely use an airfield there for stopovers by the bombers, Tu-160s and Tu-95s, which are already capable of reaching the United States from bases in Russia.

Wachovia is being hurt by its $25 billion acquisition of California's Golden West Financial Corp. in 2006, a California lender known for novelty mortgages that are now defaulting at a higher rate than more traditional mortgages.

Shares of Charlotte-based Wachovia dropped at the market's opening today but later rose. The market as a whole mirrored Wachovia, diving at the opening bell on earnings from American Express Inc., Apple Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc., all of which failed to meet analysts' expectations.

A further drop in oil prices helped boost the market back into positive territory in late-morning trading and it moved sharply up shortly before the close. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day up 135 points, about 1.2 percent, at 11,603. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index rose nearly 1.4 percent with a 17 point increase to 1,277. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed more than 24 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,304.

Crude oil settled today down $3.09 at $127.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Wachovia stock gained $3.61 to close at $16.79, a 28 percent increase.

Oil, which last week had its biggest weekly decline ever, lost 2.4 percent in New York as the U.S. dollar rose, easing some worries about the impact of higher energy costs on consumers and businesses.

Consumer stocks like Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart and airlines - all sensitive to higher fuel costs - gained as oil prices tumbled. An index of airline stocks surged 22 percent.

The drop in oil prices dominated investor attention even as several big U.S. companies reported results that reflected
that consumers are struggling. Even companies more dependent on wealthier consumers, such as American Express,  suffered. The credit card company's stock, a Dow component, plunged 7.1 percent.

There were some bright spots on the earnings front: Catepillar shares rose 2.4 percent to $74.98 after the maker of heavy construction equipment posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.

Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, was one of nine U.S. soldiers to die in a June 13 attack that represented a dangerous new phase of a war that has received far less attention than the conflict in Iraq. Some call it the forgotten war.

When insurgents attacked before dawn and nearly overran the outpost in remote Konar Province, the death toll in that single engagement exceeded the number of U.S. soldiers killed by enemy action in all of Iraq during the first three weeks of July.

The assault, which forced the Americans to abandon the outpost, reflected a recent trend: Fifty-two U.S. troops have been killed in action in Afghanistan since May 1, compared with 43 in a quieting Iraq.

The numbers are a sign of the resurgence of the Taliban and its allies nearly seven years into the Afghan war launched in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks - and a portent of changes to come.

Bank examiners from the Federal Reserve and the Comptroller of the Currency are inspecting the books of the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as the Bush administration prods Congress to approve a plan that would enable it to inject billions of dollars into the companies.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., in a meeting on Monday with reporters and editors of the New York Times, said the Fed and the comptroller’s office began combing the books of the two companies after their declining stock prices caused widespread anxiety in the market. The two companies guarantee or own almost half of the home mortgages in the United States. The Bush administration is hoping they can be the engine that pulls the housing market out of its yearlong slide.

Paulson emphasized that he still believed that the companies have an adequate cash cushion to withstand further declines in the housing market, and that he has no plans to use the new authority he seeks in the near term.

The financial condition of Fannie and Freddie is of keen interest to members of Congress, some of whom have expressed concern about approving a plan without a clearer understanding of the value of the possible losses from mortgage-related securities owned or guaranteed by the two companies.

Some lawmakers and critics are concerned that a further sharp erosion in housing prices could lead to more foreclosures than Fannie and Freddie could absorb without a large investment or loan from the government, which would involve committing taxpayer funds.

Hurricane warnings were issued late Monday for parts of the Texas and Mexico coasts, meaning hurricane conditions were expected in those areas by the end of Tuesday.

The storm was expected to bring high winds and dump 10 to 20 inches of rain in coastal areas near the U.S.-Mexican border. Emergency officials feared major flooding problems and urged coastal residents to prepare.

Shell Oil said it was evacuating workers from oil rigs in the western Gulf Of Mexico, and the federal government was trying to decide whether they could begin construction on a new border fence, which was to be combined with levee improvements along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a hurricane warning from Brownsville north to Port O'Connor. Meanwhile, a tropical storm warning was issued from Port O'Connor to the San Luis Pass, a strait south of Galveston.

One of the world's most wanted men, the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was arrested last night in Serbia after 12 years on the run from charges of genocide and war crimes.

The man indicted for the Srebrenica massacre and the Sarajevo siege, among other war crimes, was arrested by Serbian security officers and taken before a war crimes court in Belgrade, according to a statement from the office of the Serbian president, Boris Tadic.

Karadzic was said to have been under surveillance for weeks after a tip-off from an unnamed foreign intelligence agency, and had been picked up in Belgrade. The prosecutor's office at The Hague war crimes tribunal said it expected Karadzic to be handed over "in due course".

Last night he was undergoing formal identification, including DNA testing, and was scheduled to meet investigators. Heavily armed security forces took up position around the court, a precaution against a backlash from ultra-nationalists.

The arrest came on the eve of a European foreign ministers' meeting about Serbia's ties with the European Union, which has made action against Karadzic and his former military commander, Ratko Mladic, a condition of membership. It also came days after the formation of a pro-western coalition government pledged to pursue E.U. accession.

Britain's economy is tipping headlong into a recession that could last more than a year and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, warns Professor David Blanchflower, a member of the Bank of England's interest rate committee, in an interview with the Guardian Monday.

Blanchflower says the Bank must cut interest rates rapidly to prevent the downturn being too painful, and thinks the U.K.  could be in for a worse time than even the United States, where interest rates have already been slashed and taxes cut to stimulate the economy.

The economist said the recent rises in unemployment are "the tip of the iceberg". The number of people out of work and claiming benefit is 840,000 but the broader measure of unemployment is 1.6 million, 5.2% of the workforce. Blanchflower said it could climb to more than 7% - a figure that would mean several hundred thousand people losing their jobs.

His warning comes days after the chancellor acknowledged that the slowdown could be "profound" and hinted he would change the Treasury's fiscal rules as the slowing economy looks set to bust them.

Today a leading thinktank, the Ernst & Young Item Club, says the economic outlook for Britain is like a "horror movie" as a result of the credit crunch and tumbling house prices.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, which struck at 00:26 (10:26 a.m. EDT Wednesday) and had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and could be felt as far away as Tokyo.

A National Police Agency official said that 91 people were confirmed injured, 15 of whom were seriously hurt. Many were injured in falls or suffered cuts from broken glass.

The focus of the quake was 108 kilometers (67 miles) below the surface of the earth in Iwate prefecture, a mountainous, sparsely populated region.

The JMA initially put the focus at a depth of 120 kilometers.

"I woke up immediately. It felt like it was shaking for a long time. Books and other things that were piled up fell on the floor. All the doors were open and things were shattered," Sho Koseki, a city official in Hachinohe, about 550 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, told Reuters by telephone.

Auditors at an oversight agency of the Pentagon were pressured by supervisors to skew their reports on a major defense contractor's work, hiding wrongdoing and charges of over billing, according to an 80-page report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The Defense Contract Audit Agency, which is charged with overseeing contractors for the Defense Department, made an upfront agreement with "a major aerospace company" to limit the scope of work and basis for an audit, the report said.

When the contractor, who is not named in the report, objected to the draft findings of the DCAA audit, managers at the audit agency assigned a new supervisor to the case and threatened the senior auditor with personnel action if "he did not delete findings from the report and change the draft audit opinion to adequate," according to the GAO report.

Supervisors at DCAA attempted to intimidate auditors, prevented them from speaking with GAO investigators and created a "generally abusive work environment," said the report.

GAO said it launched the investigation on its own after receiving complaints on a hotline about 14 DCAA audits. It conducted more than 100 interviews of more than 50 people involved in the audits at two DCAA locations in California. The report details three of the audits the GAO looked into but does not name any of the contractors.

The Fed's new snapshot of business conditions, released Wednesday, also underscored the challenges confronting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues as they try to get the economy back on track.

For now, many economists predict the Federal Reserve will probably leave a key interest rate alone when it meets next on Aug. 5 -  given all the economic crosscurrents. Boosting rates to fend off inflation would hurt the fragile economy and the already crippled housing market. On the other hand, the Federal Reserve isn't inclined to lower rates because that would aggravate inflation.

Growth and inflation barometers turned worse in the summer, according to the Federal Reserve report. Some worry that the country may be headed for a bout of stagflation, that toxic combination of stagnant growth and stubborn inflation last seen in the 1970s.

Bernanke has said, however, that he doesn't believe the economy will suffer from stagflation.

The vote concluded a bitter nine-month battle in support of the deal by the now-beleaguered coalition government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The agreement, which would give India access to the world market for nuclear fuel and technology, must now be approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which governs the trade of nuclear materials. The U.S. Congress would then vote on the accord.

"This vote gives a clear message to the world that India's head and heart are sound and India is prepared to take its rightful place in the comity of nations," said a beaming Singh, whose supporters burst firecrackers and beat celebratory drums in the streets of New Delhi. "I have always said the deal was important and now we know it."

But the victory was not without cost for Singh. On a day of intense political drama in Parliament, he faced a chorus of calls for his resignation after opposition members carried two duffel bags full of cash into the assembly building, alleging that the prime minister's allies had used the money to try to buy votes.

When Singh rose to address the members, he was shouted down by opponents chanting, "Be Ashamed, Be Ashamed" and "Thief." The prime minister, in his trademark blue turban, sat nonplussed, shuffling through his files. His government secured 275 votes in the 541-member lower chamber of Parliament; his opponents secured 256 votes; 10 members abstained from voting.

Obama has certainly not won the argument over Iraq policy. Far from it. His proposal to withdraw U.S. combat forces over a 16-month period still faces serious questions, including from some of the commanders who might be asked to implement it if he is elected.

The curious turn of events made for an unexpected opening act for the Democrat's week-long tour of seven countries, demonstrating anew the combination of agility and good fortune that has marked his campaign.

Whether Obama can count on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the days ahead is another matter. The Iraqi government does not speak with one voice on this matter, and it is not yet clear how current negotiations with the administration will conclude and how much emphasis will be placed on making a withdrawal timetable or "time horizon" conditions-based.

Beyond that, Obama's opposition to the troop "surge" that has helped quell violence and U.S. casualties - and that McCain vociferously supported - leaves plenty of room for further questions about his judgment at that moment. McCain's advisers were quick to suggest Monday that it was only because of the success of the increase that Obama can project the drawdown of troops over a 16-month period.

Federal officials investigating a three-month-old salmonella outbreak have isolated the bacteria in a jalapeño pepper from a small distribution facility in McAllen, Texas, and Monday warned consumers nationwide to avoid eating raw jalapeños or products that contain them until more is known.

Investigators found the contaminated jalapeño at Agricola Zaragosa in McAllen, after tracing back jalapeños eaten by restaurant patrons who got sick. The company has stopped distributing jalapeño peppers and is recalling jalapeños sold since June 30 to customers in Georgia and Texas. The tainted pepper was grown in Mexico, but investigators don't know where the contamination occurred.

"All we know is a pepper in this facility is positive with this strain. We don't know if it became contaminated in this distribution facility or at some point leading up to this facility," said David Acheson, a top official with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

None of the other samples taken at the facility tested positive for the outbreak strain Salmonella saintpaul, and officials said the finding has not cleared the initial suspect - raw tomatoes - as a cause.

Agricola Zaragosa also handles tomatillas, FDA officials said. A voice mail message left at the company last night was not returned. According to business information firm Dun and Bradstreet, Agricola Zaragosa had sales of $600,000 in 2007 and has fewer than 10 employees.

A student downloads an al-Qaeda document from a U.S. government website and is held in custody for six days. A shop assistant writes poems about cutting people's heads off and is tried for being a terrorist. An opera composer is accused of promoting terrorism, objects, and is bankrupted by a national newspaper.

What do these cases have in common? First, none of these people was successfully convicted of any crime. Second, none of them faced charges under the glorification clause of the Terrorism Act 2006. Third, they would not have been arrested and/or tried and/or bankrupted had it not been a climate of opinion created by that clause.

During the long battle between the Lords and Commons over its wording, ministers pooh-poohed critics' concerns that works of fact or fiction might be vulnerable to prosecution, assuring them that the good sense of British juries would prevent prosecutions of histories of the Stern gang, biographies of Nelson Mandela or novels, plays or poems about terrorists today.

Those of us who expressed such concerns pointed out that we had been here before. No one was prosecuted under the Conservative government's criminalization of the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities. But that kneejerk legislation undoubtedly had results: it contributed to growing homophobia, it created a climate in which teachers were nervous about combating it, and it made local authorities jumpy about (for example) allowing theater shows with gay themes or characters into schools .

For decades nations in this region have drained aquifers, sucked the salt from seawater and diverted the mighty Nile to make the deserts bloom, but those projects were so costly and used so much water that it remained far more practical to import food than to produce it. Today, some countries import 90 percent or more of their staples.

Now, the worldwide food crisis is making many countries in this politically volatile region rethink that math.

The population of the region has more than quadrupled since 1950, to 364 million, and is expected to reach nearly 600 million by 2050. By that time, the amount of fresh water available for each person, already scarce, will be cut in half, and declining resources could inflame political tensions further.

“The countries of the region are caught between the hammer of rising food prices and the anvil of steadily declining water availability per capita,” Alan R. Richards, a professor of economics and environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said via e-mail. “There is no simple solution.”