AP - Gleaming skyscrapers, the nation's biggest refinery and NASA's Johnson Space Center lie in areas that could be vulnerable to wind and damaging floodwaters if Hurricane Ike crashes ashore as a major hurricane.

AP - The judge in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery trial allowed jury selection to proceed Wednesday after looking into a report by two prospective jurors that they were contacted by somebody identifying himself as a member of the media.

AP - A death row inmate whose lawyers argued a secret romantic relationship between the judge and prosecutor tainted his trial has won a reprieve — but not because of the alleged affair.

AP - With a pair of easy primary victories behind them, comedian-turned-politician Al Franken and Sen. Norm Coleman wasted no time diving into the homestretch of their already long-running Minnesota Senate battle.

AP - Less than two months into the job in the oilfields of West Texas, Brandon Garrett was sliced in half by a motorized spool of steel cable as he and other roughnecks struggled to get a drilling rig up and running.

AP - A smooth-talking Italian businessman who once dated actress Anne Hathaway and claimed to have friends in high places at the Vatican pleaded guilty Wednesday in a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud case.

AP - Hurricane Ike strengthened in the Gulf's warm waters Wednesday and churned toward the Texas coast, and officials started to evacuate the first of millions of residents who could be in the storm's path.

AP - Nearly seven years after terrorists took down the World Trade Center's twin towers, police officials have embarked on an ambitious plan to secure the new development that is finally sprouting at ground zero.

AP - The owner and managers of the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant were charged Tuesday with more than 9,000 misdemeanors alleging they hired minors and had children younger than 16 handle dangerous equipment such as circular saws and meat grinders.