AP-9th NewsMinute,268

 Flood dangers from Irene ... Drought helps Midwest fires grow ...

Report: job cuts decline

     NEWFANE, Vt. (AP) - The danger from Irene isn't over yet for

parts of the East Coast. Residents in Paterson, N.J. were forced to

evacuate after the Passaic (puh-SAY'-ihk) River crested. It's

starting to recede now. And in Connecticut, the Connecticut River

was 23 feet above flood stage and still rising.

     NEWFANE, Vt. (AP) - This morning, ground crews have been able to

reach 10 Vermont communities that have been cut off since the

remnants of Hurricane Irene took out roads and bridges. Emergency

management officials say they're still trying to reach Wardsboro,

but many isolated communities have been given food and water.

     POSSUM KINGDOM LAKE, Texas (AP) - Nearly three dozen homes have

burned to the ground in wildfires in parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

Drought conditions helped a fire in north Texas spread quickly and

fire officials expect it to be windy today. In Oklahoma City, a

local fire chief says blowing embers likely started a fire that

destroyed several homes and a church overnight.

     LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Police in Nigeria say two men have been

arrested in connection with the car bombing at the United Nations

headquarters that killed 23 people and injured more than 80. Police

believe the men belong to a radical Muslim group with links to

al-Qaida, and authorities are looking for a third suspect.

     CHICAGO (AP) - A new report says U.S. employers plan to cut

another 51,000 jobs from the payrolls. But global consultant

Challenger, Gray & Christmas says the job cuts represent a 23

percent decline from July, when the number of job cuts hit a

16-month high.

     TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Seminole Tribe of Florida will unveil

plans for a $75 million expansion to its Seminole Hard Rock Hotel &

Casino in Tampa. Tomorrow tribe officials will display images of

the expanded gaming space, a new five-story parking garage and

renovated pool.

MIAMI (AP) - Tropical Storm Katia is racing west-northwest

across the Atlantic and forecasters say it's likely to become a

hurricane on Wednesday. Katia (KAH'-tee-yah) had maximum sustained

winds early Wednesday of 65 mph. Forecasters say it is too early to

tell if it would hit the U.S.

     MIAMI (AP) - A Florida man has been charged with attempting to

defraud the claims fund set up by BP following last year's Gulf of

Mexico oil spill. Prosecutors say the man sent a fraudulent

electronic claim last October for more than $110,000 in supposedly

lost income due to the spill.

     TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Three Florida universities are

receiving grants to lead research groups studying last year's

massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Groups from Florida State

University, South Florida and the University of Miami were among

those who received grants totaling $112.5 million.