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Gustav moves to within 375 miles of N.O.

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Hurricane Gustav, packing winds as high as 120 mph in the Gulf of Mexico, Sunday moved to within 375 miles of New Orleans as city residents evacuated.

Forecasters from the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Gustav had calmed a bit Sunday morning after passing over Cuba, moving down from a Category 4 to a Category 3 storm -- still capable of producing winds between 111 mph and 130 mph.

But the meteorologists said Gustav could well strengthen to a Category 4 again later Sunday while over the warm Gulf waters. Such hurricanes can produce winds between 131 and 155 mph. Gustav was expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast sometime Monday.

In a city still recovering from 2005's devastating Category 3 Hurricane Katrina, Gustav's approach prompted 10,000 people to evacuate Saturday and for businesses to close early. Resident Jack Ware, who stayed during Katrina but was leaving for Chattanooga, told UPI, "It's kind of funny. Those who stayed during Katrina are evacuating. Those who left during Katrina are deciding to stay."

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said the USDA was preparing to work closely with federal emergency management officials to supply food to potential refugees.

Two killed in Ill. chemical plant mishap

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Two chemical workers were killed and at least seven others sickened by exposure to a toxic powder at an East St. Louis, Ill., plant, officials said.

Authorities said the incident happened Saturday at the Ro-Corp Inc. facility when a drum containing the deadly chemical nitroaniline was dropped, popping its lid and sending a cloud of the powder into the air, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

East St. Louis City Manager Robert Betts said two Ro-Corp workers were killed and seven others went to area hospitals seeking help. The newspaper said no details on the workers' identities had been released.

Emergency rooms at St. Anthony's Medical Center in south St. Louis County and DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton, Mo., were quarantined after the victims' arrivals and were decontaminated. Officials said there was no danger to the community from the chemical.

Ro-Corp is a part of G.S. Robins and Co., of St. Louis, a chemical supplier. No one responded to the newspaper's message left with the company Saturday night.

Report: Palin got VP nod on abortion issue

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Likely Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate partly because of pressure from social conservatives, sources say.

With time running out to make a decision, McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, yielded to pressure to scrap his first choice for the vice president spot on his ticket , abortion rights supporter Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent. Instead, he went with Palin, the anti-abortion Alaska governor, at the urging of Christian conservatives, The New York Times reported Sunday, citing unnamed sources.

McCain also found "a kindred spirit" in the first-term governor, sources said, noting she beat out not only Lieberman but also Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and one-time GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the ex-governor of Massachusetts.

Besides her appeal to social conservatives, the reasons for tapping Palin reportedly included the opportunity to counter the historic nature of Democratic opponent U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign as a black man with a woman candidate.

Another unnamed McCain staffer told the Times McCain was never comfortable being cast as the aged wise man in contrast to the youthful Illinois Democrat's rock star popularity, and so he went with Palin to shake up that perception.

15 killed in China fireworks factory blast

HOHHOT, China, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A Chinese fireworks factory explosion killed 15 workers and injured six others in Inner Mongolia, officials said Sunday.

The blast happened Saturday at the Xinxin Fireworks Plant in Hohhot, the capital of northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. Fourteen of the dead were locals between the ages of 25 and 68, while another victim from neighboring Liaoning Province.

Eleven of the 15 dead were women, officials said.

Xinhua reported the blast happened while workers were weighing and mixing the fireworks ingredients. Officials blamed the explosion on production managers who violated safety laws and workers who ignored regulations.

Pakistan calls Ramadan ceasefire

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Pakistani military officials said Sunday they have instituted a month-long suspension of their offensive against Taliban insurgents in observance of Ramadan.

But, they warned, they would respond with "full force" if Taliban extremists attempted to take advantage of the Muslim holy month to perpetrate terror in the restive North West Frontier province, CNN reported.

Quoting Pakistan state media, the broadcaster said the Pakistani Interior Ministry made the move to allow refugees caught up in the nearly continuous fighting in the region to return to their homes to honor Ramadan, a month-long period of fasting and religious reflection.