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Hurricane Dolly 30 miles off Texas

MIAMI, July 23 (UPI) -- Hurricane Dolly Wednesday advanced on the Texas Gulf coast, with sustained winds of 100 mph, forecasters said.

The storm was 30 miles from Brownsville, Texas, at midday and expected to strengthen further before making landfall near the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.

At 11 a.m., the system was moving west-northwest near 8 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended 25 miles from the eye, while tropical storm-force winds reached out up to 140 miles, the forecasters said.

"Dolly is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 6 to 10 inches, with isolated amounts of 15 inches over portions of south Texas and northeastern Mexico over the next few days," the report said. "Persons are advised not to venture outdoors during the relative calm of the eye because winds will soon increase quite rapidly."

Isolated tornadoes were possible over southern Texas and forecasters warned of coastal storm surge flooding 4 to 6 feet above normal tide levels along with dangerous battering waves.

A tropical storm warning was in effect from north of Corpus Christi to San Luis Pass.

Mexico also issued a hurricane warning from Rio San Fernando north to the U.S. border.

Tropical Storm Cristobal fizzles out

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 23 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Cristobal encountered cold Canadian waters and was labeled extra-tropical Wednesday 380 miles east of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm system was moving east-northeast at 31 mph at 5 a.m. with sustained winds of 45 mph and higher gusts. The final report on the storm said no change in strength was expected in the next 24 hours and the easterly track would continue for some time.

Tropical storm force winds extended up to 85 miles form the storm center, the hurricane center said.

Cristobal started working its way up the U.S. eastern seaboard Friday but never made landfall. It created high surf and caused rain before turning toward Nova Scotia.

The Chronicle-Herald newspaper in Halifax reported more than a month's worth of rain fell in some parts of the province Tuesday. Environment Canada meteorologist Bob Robichaud told the newspaper Baccaro Point received 6.5 inches of rain, while the monthly average there is 4 inches.

Elsewhere, the Canadian military reported rescuing an unidentified Connecticut sailor 150 miles southeast of Halifax Tuesday night after his vessel capsized in the stormy waters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., reported.

Dumping military option against Iran urged

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. officials should cease talk about a military option if negotiations fail to immediately end Iran's uranium program, two ex-national security advisers say.

The two former advisers said they both think both the United States and Iran are divided on how to proceed regarding Tehran's nuclear aspirations, making progress harder to achieve before the next U.S. president takes office, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

U.S. President George Bush has said all options are on the table.

"Don't talk about 'do we bomb them now or later?' " said Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on U.S.-Iran negotiations.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, said the Bush administration's policy of maintaining a military option was "counterproductive."

"I don't want the public to believe a preemptive attack can be justified," Brzezinski said.

Brzezinski and Scowcroft did say Undersecretary of State William Burns's participation at the most recent negotiations with Iran was a positive step.

"It brings the U.S. solidly in with the Europeans and the Russians," Scowcroft said.

Bush to sign housing bill

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush, saying the measure's positives outweigh the negatives, said he wouldn't veto the housing bill expected to win approval in Congress.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters Wednesday that Bush has supported mortgage lending reforms for many years.

"The positive aspects of the bill are needed now to increase confidence and stability in the housing and financial markets, but we have concerns with other aspects of the bill. It is important that the new authorities are put in place promptly and so the president will accept (Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson's recommendation to sign the bill," Perino said.

"We believe this is not the time for a prolonged veto fight …"

Paulson Tuesday said securing support for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Federal National Mortgage Association is "critical." The two entities guarantee approximately half of the nation's mortgages.

The bill expected to clear Congress Wednesday would raise the U.S. debt ceiling by $800 billion to give the government more leeway in dealing with the crisis. Mortgage foreclosures have been hitting records as exotic, interest-only mortgages expire and homeowners are hit with rising interest rates coupled with first-time principal payments.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday Paulson's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac proposals would cost as much as $25 billion over the next two years.

Mukasey pledges to fix Justice Dept. rep

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Wednesday he has taken steps to ensure politics plays no role in Justice Department workings.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Mukasey said allegations the department had been politicized have been and continue to be addressed.

"It is absolutely crucial that the American people have complete confidence in the propriety of what we do, and I will work to make certain they can have such confidence," Mukasey said.

The attorney general also said tensions between the Democratically-controlled Congress and the executive branch are "part of the genius of the design of our Constitution."

With the end of the Bush administration fast approaching, Mukasey said the Justice Department is deep into planning for the transition to a new administration with an eye toward making the transfer of national security issues as seamless as possible.

Justice, he said, also is trying to make sure the November elections will take place with few problems.

First lady backs yearly testing

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. first lady Laura Bush says she disagrees with critics who charge the 2002 No Child Left Behind education act puts too much emphasis on testing.

Bush called annual testing in reading and math for children "the most important piece of the law," USA Today reported Wednesday.

"We would never go to a doctor and say, 'I'm sick, you can't try to diagnose me. . .you can't use any kind of test," Bush told the newspaper in an interview.

She rejected claims that the education law, which is up for reauthorization, has forced schools to concentrate on reading and math to the detriment of other subjects such as science and the arts.

Bush called it a "tragedy" that Democrats in Congress have killed the administration's $1 billion-a-year Reading First program.

She told USA Today she thinks No Child Left Behind will be a lasting part of the legacy of her husband, U.S. President George Bush.