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Category 4 Ike heads for Bahamas, Keys

MIAMI, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Authorities were shooing tourists off the Florida Keys Saturday ahead of oncoming Hurricane Ike, which swelled to Category 4 status.

They also were planning a mandatory phased evacuation of island residents Sunday, as almost all of Florida remained in the predicted trajectory of the storm, The Miami Herald reported.

The hurricane strengthened to Category 4 status late Saturday afternoon, and forecasters warned that Ike was expected to remain a major hurricane for at least the next 48 hours.

Ike was producing winds of 135 mph with higher gusts and taking aim on the Turks and Caicos Islands, which was under a hurricane warning. Ike's eye was about 60 miles east of Grand Turk Island and the storm was moving west-southwest about 12 mph.

It was expected to pass near or over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas Saturday night or early Sunday and then turn westward, likely hitting eastern Cuba Sunday night and early Monday, the hurricane center said.

The governments of the Bahamas and Cuba issued hurricane warnings for portions of their regions.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. While Hispaniola was not directly in Ike's path, Haiti, already battered by Hurricane Hanna, could suffer more damage from the outskirts of the storm.

Storm surge flooding of 13-18 feet above normal tide levels was forecast, with rainfall of 4-12 inches common and isolated instances of up to 20 inches, meaning flash floods and mudslides are possible, the hurricane center said.

Hanna races north to New England

OAK ISLAND, N.C., Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Hanna gained speed Saturday as it rushed up the East Coast to New Jersey.

The storm left downed trees and power outages in its wake, but there were no reports of major damage.

"We kept watching the news and looking out the window, stockpiling some food, but it turned out to be a whole lot of nothing," Royal Dimond, a visitor to Charleston, S.C., told WCIV-TV.

Hanna came ashore in the Carolinas early Saturday as a near hurricane and turned toward the north. By 2 p.m., the center of the storm was near Williamsburg, Va., and by 8 p.m. over Atlantic City, N.J., the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.

Maximum sustained winds were reported to be 55 mph with tropical storm winds extending 200 miles from the center. Hanna was moving northeast at 28 mph, and forecasters said it was likely to be over the Canadian Maritimes by Sunday afternoon.

Forecasters said Hanna might become stronger but was also expected to lose its tropical characteristics Sunday as it reached colder areas. The five-day track would put the storm in mid-Atlantic headed for Ireland and Britain late next week.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect at 8 p.m. from Cape Henlopen in Delaware to the Merrimack River in Massachusetts.

Gallup: Obama 47, McCain 45

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads Republican rival John McCain 47-45 among registered U.S. voters, a Gallup poll issued Saturday indicated.

Obama had led McCain by eight points in the Gallup Poll Daily tracking during and just after the Democratic National Convention in Denver. However, in surveys conducted Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 3-5, the lead shrunk to two points, Gallup said on its Web site Saturday.

"It appears that McCain is now enjoying a rebound bounce coming out of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul (Minn.) that is nullifying some of Obama's gains," the Princeton, N.J., polling firm said.

Interviewing for the Saturday report included some voter response to the acceptance speech delivered Wednesday by vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin, and McCain's acceptance speech Thursday.

Obama and McCain were tied 45-45 going into the two-week convention period.

The poll results are based on interviews with 2,765 registered voters, with a maximum margin of sampling error of 2 percentage points.

Zardari elected Pakistani president

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Asif Ali Zardari, the spouse of the late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Saturday became Pakistan's new president, officials said.

Officials in Islamabad said Zardari cruised to victory in voting among both houses of the country's national assembly, The New York Times reported. He also won majorities in the four provincial parliaments.

As he claimed victory, Zardari urged Pakistanis to put their differences aside, The Telegraph reported.

"Let any bitterness that may have been generated by campaigning be left behind us, and let us all now join hands for the common cause and common good of the people beyond partisan considerations," he said.

Zardari, 53, succeeds Pervez Musharraf, who was forced to resign last month under the threat of impeachment. Zardari spent 11 years in jail on corruption charges that were not proven, and is seen as strongly pro-Western and supportive of U.S. efforts to battle militant Taliban extremists both in neighboring Afghanistan as well as in Pakistan itself.

Pakistan information minister Sherry Rehman told the Times, "This is a verdict of the people of Pakistan. Today, every Pakistani can raise his head with pride."

Zardari was thrown into the spotlight after Bhutto's assassination in December, becoming head of the Pakistan People's Party.