NEW ORLEANS (AP) Mother Nature has taken some of the punch out of Hurricane Gustav, which has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm as it moves through Louisiana en route to Texas. Gustav delivered only a glancing blow to New Orleans, which was devastated by Katrina three years ago.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Gustav, rather than politics, is dominating the first day of the Republican convention. The wife of John McCain and first lady Laura Bush are expected to use their speeches as a fundraising appeal for disaster relief.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Republican vice presidential candidate sarah palin says she and her husband are "proud" of their 17-year-old unmarried daughter's decision to keep the child she's carrying. Barack Obama apparently won't be saying much about it. He says that as far as campaigning is concerned, "people's families are off limits, and people's children are especially off limits."


BAGHDAD (AP) Anbar province, the cradle of the Sunni insurgency and the birthplace of al-Qaida in Iraq, is now in the hands of Iraqi forces. American forces today handed over security responsibility for Anbar a sign of the stunning reversal of fortunes since local Sunnis turned against al-Qaida in Iraq.

LOS ANGELES (AP) "Tropic Thunder" rolled again this holiday weekend, staying on top of the Box Office for a third straight week. The DreamWorks-Paramount comedy hauled in 14.3 million dollars, even as Hurricane Gustav contributed to a slow Labor Day weekend at theaters.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 09-01-08 1445CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list