Hurricane Igor hits Canada with heavy rains, communities flooded
ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland (AP) — Hurricane Igor pelted Canada’s Atlantic coast province of Newfoundland with heavy rain Tuesday, flooding communities, washing out roads and stranding some residents in their homes.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre said Igor had transformed into a “post-tropical” storm, which has a different structure from a hurricane but still packs the same punch. The storm battered Newfoundland on Canada’s eastern coast.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre said the change in Igor’s classification does not reflect a downgrade in the storm’s intensity. Winds have strengthened as the storm draws energy from another weather system to the west.
In the Pacific, a mild tropical storm formed and was expected to cross the Mexican resort area of Baja California.
 
 
 
Mideast peacemakers cancel news conference, negotiations cease
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Quartet of Mideast peacemakers shepherding the new direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations called on Israel to extend a settlement freeze after abruptly canceling a news conference over a disagreement.
Diplomats from the Quartet — the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations and Russia — met on the sidelines of the United Nations anti-poverty meeting to discuss negotiations, which have made little visible progress since they resumed earlier this month and are at risk of collapsing.
In a statement afterward, the Quartet said the “commendable Israeli settlement moratorium instituted last November has had a positive impact.” It encouraged both sides to continue negotiating “in a constructive manner and urged the international community to support their efforts.”
 
 
 
Brown wants California executions to resume, lethal injection halted
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Attorney General Jerry Brown and his lawyers are demanding that executions resume in California next week.
A judge halted executions in California in 2006 and ordered prison officials to overhaul lethal injection procedures. More than 700 killers line death row in California, and Brown’s office believes regulations adopted last month will ensure inmates won’t suffer “cruel and unusual punishment” when executed.
 
 
 
Advocates of medical marijuana oppose legalization in California
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Medical marijuana advocates opposed a California initiative Tuesday that would legalize the drug for recreational use and tax its sales.
Supporters of Proposition 19 said it protects the rights of patients and would provide safer and easier access to the drug.
 
 
 
Few take advantage of BP Gulf rig worker fund, nine days left to apply
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fewer people than expected have applied for money from a $100 million fund BP PLC set up to help deepwater rig workers after a federal moratorium on drilling.
With nine days left to apply, a spokesman for the charity running the program told The Associated Press on Tuesday that only 356 people have come forward. Up to 9,000 people had been expected to seek grants of $3,000 to $30,000.
The charity said many rig workers are being kept on the job by their employers despite the moratorium.
Grants were expected to be limited to those who worked on the 33 rigs affected by the moratorium. But with so much money apparently left over, the charity plans to offer a second round of grants — this time to workers who support the deepwater rigs, such as people on supply boats and pilots who provide helicopter transportation to rigs.
 
 
 
Efforts to clean Gulf spill continue, crude oil leaking ended in July
BAY JIMMY (AP) — Crews on fishing boats with giant vacuums sucked up pools of oil near a small Louisiana barrier island Tuesday as officials sought to reassure residents that the cleanup continues even though no crude has leaked in two months.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft, who is overseeing the cleanup, said about 23,000 workers are employed in the effort, about 80 percent of them in Louisiana.
No oil has leaked from the BP PLC well in the Gulf of Mexico since July 15. The well was declared dead Sunday after engineers pumped in cement to stop up the bottom.
While oil has not been gushing into the Gulf, it continues to wash ashore on coastal islands and wetlands in Louisiana. Local officials are worried cleanup efforts won’t be maintained to catch as much of it as possible.