Nation in brief

Fabian's winds hit 145 mph

MIAMI - Hurricane Fabian churned in the Atlantic packing powerful winds Monday but meteorologists said it was too early to predict whether it would pose any threat to the United States.

Fabian was maintaining sustained winds of 145 mph, making the storm a dangerous Category 4 hurricane. At 5 p.m., the hurricane's center was located near latitude 19.1 N, longitude 57.8 W, about 275 miles east-northeast of Barbuda in the Northern Leeward Islands - several days from any landfall.

Forecasters predicted it would gradually turn toward the west-northwest during the next day and pass well north of the Northern Leeward Islands. But forecasters warned that it would cause large swells and dangerous surf conditions for the Northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by Tuesday or Wednesday.

"Nobody's off the hook yet, but it's certainly looking a bit more optimistic for those of us in Florida," said Jamie Rhome, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Hurricane specialists were uncertain early Monday whether it would threaten the Atlantic coast of the United States. Fabian was moving toward the west near 12 mph.

An Air Force reserve reconnaissance plane was sent out Monday afternoon to investigate the storm.

In Hawaii, Tropical Storm Jimena skirted the southern edge of the Big Island after being downgraded from a hurricane. At 4 p.m., the storm was centered near latitude 16.9 N, longitude 156.8 W, about 225 miles south-southwest of the island's main city of Hilo.

Maximum sustained wind had slowed to 60 mph, 14 mph less than hurricane strength, down from 80 mph early in the morning. The storm was moving west-southwest at 17 mph.

In Texas, Grace blundered onto the state's central coast from the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, quickly losing its tropical storm rating as its maximum sustained wind dropped below 39 mph.

Nearly 5 inches of rain fell at Beaumont and Port Arthur, east of Houston.

The Bolivar Peninsula, just east of Galveston, got the brunt of Grace with radar estimates of 10 to 12 inches of rain, National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Roeseler said.

Storms dampened the Midwest to the Northeast on Monday, pummeling Indianapolis with more than 7 inches of rain, washing out parades across Ohio and causing delays at the U.S. Open in New York.

Indiana was the hardest hit by a front that stretched across the Ohio Valley and combined with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to create heavy rain in the eastern half of the United States, the National Weather Service said.

LOS ANGELES - The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association received a record $60.5-million in nationwide pledges, a telethon spokeswoman said Monday.

The 77-year-old Lewis, his body bloated due to steroid medication he takes for pulmonary fibrosis, was assisted during the 211/2-hour fundraiser by Ed McMahon and performances from a number of entertainers, including Cher, Celine Dion and Don Rickles.

Originating from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, the telethon pledges received through Monday broke last year's record of $58.3-million, said telethon spokeswoman Carol Sowell. The 38th annual broadcast was shown on about 200 television stations.

The privately funded association works to combat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through research, services to those afflicted, and professional and public health education.

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