News for hurricane Alex

Alex was upgraded to the season's first hurricane as of 10 pm CDT Tuesday, and it is still possible to achieve category two status before landfall tonight. Hurricane Alex slowed last evening and even stalled for a period overnight. Since then it has maintained a movement off to the west-northwest at 7 mph.

Hurricane warnings are now in effect from Baffin Bay, Texas south to La Cruz, Mexico. A tropical storm warning is in effect north of the hurricane warning from Baffin Bay to Port O'Connor and south of the hurricane warning from La Cruz to Cabo Rojo.

Rain bands and squalls from Alex will continue spiraling on shore along the Gulf coast from Louisiana through Texas today. In these bands isolated tornadoes will be possible anywhere within 50 to 100 miles of the southeast Texas Coast.

The biggest concern with Alex in the United States is heavy rain that brings the potential of flooding. Widespread rainfall totals of 4 inches or more are likely across much of south and southeast Texas. Locally 12 inches or more will fall over South Texas.

Another area with a heavy rain threat is along the Louisiana and northeast Texas coast. Rainfall there could total 2 to 4 inches through Thursday.

More about Russian spies' top priorities

Residents of this New Jersey home were among the 10 arrested on Sunday [AFP]. Each of the 10 suspects arrested on Sunday was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison on conviction. Also charged was an 11th defendant, who allegedly delivered money to the defendants, though he is at large.

The arrests come in a special time period of "resetting" US-Russia relations. Thus, Barack Obama, the US president, and his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev met just last week at the White House after Medvedev visited California's Silicon Valley, and both leaders attended the G8 and G20 meetings over the weekend in Canada.

FBI agents reported in court papers that the defendants communicated with alleged Russian agents using mobile wireless transmissions between laptops computers while they were close to each other.

The court papers reveals many examples of communications intercepted in the FBI probe that spelled out what they were allegedly trying to do.

Among the top priorities for the defendants were Obama's foreign policy positions, particularly as they related to Russia,

In 2009, for example, two of the accused, Richard and Cynthia Murphy, were asked by Moscow to provide information about the US negotiating position on the START arms reduction treaty as well as Afghanistan and the approach Washington would take in dealing with Iran's suspect nuclear programme, ahead of Obama's trip to Russia that summer.

Another task they charged was to send background on US officials who would be travelling with Obama or involved in foreign policy, and to get their views and learn their "arguments, provisions, means of persuasion to 'lure' [Russia] into co-operation in US interests", according to the court documents.

The papers also described one defendant's contact with a prominent New York-based financier who was active in politics and another's conversations with an unidentified man who worked "on issues of strategic planning related to nuclear weapon development" at a US government research facility.

Russian spies file

According to court documents unsealed Monday, June 28th, the FBI arrested 11 people last week in a case related to Russian spies. The documents says that the alleged spies were on 'long-term deep-cover assignments.'

The arrested people have been serving for years as deep cover secret agents of Russia's SVR intelligence agency, with the goal of penetrating US government policymaking circles.

A Justice department official said, they were not assigned to collect classified, secret information, but were allegedly tasked to learn about a broad swath of topics including nuclear weapons, US arms control positions, positions on Iran, White House rumors, CIA leadership turnover, the last presidential election, congress and political parties.

The justice department developed a secret investigation maintained over several years. This investigation used extensive surveillance of communications and wiretaps, including putting listening devices into the homes of the accused.

The Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, , said his country is awaiting an explanation from the US over the arrests.

"The subject was not explained to us. I hope they will explain," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying on Tuesday.

Tropical storm Alex gaining strength

Hurricane watches were in effect Monday for a stretch of Gulf coast in southern Texas and northern Mexico. Tropical Storm Alex gained strength and is expected to become a Categpry 3 hurricane Tuesday, the June 29th, and could build winds as high as 120 mph (193 kilometers) by Wednesday.

Its heavy rains were expected to begin lashing the Mexican states of Tamaulipas or Veracruz around midweek. Alex's heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides that left at least four people dead in Central America over the weekend, though Belize and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula appeared largely unscathed.

Tropical storm-force winds extended up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) from the storm's center Monday, and Alex was moving north-northwest near 7 mph (11 kph).

The hurricane watches extended about 225 miles (360 kilometers) south of the U.S. border over an area of sparsely populated Mexican coast, and about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north along the Texas coast from the Rio Grande to just south of Baffin Bay.

New married Megan Fox has a boy

Kassius, the Brian Green's 8-year-old son with actress Vanessa Marcil, is now making part from Megan Fox family. The boy joined his dad and new step-mom for the special wedding occasion.

Kassius Lijah Marcil-Green, was born on March 30, 2002. His father and Vanessa Marcil have never been a married couple.

Megan, Brian and Kassius have been spoted many times together. People often saw them shopping in LA. Megan recently opened up about her love for children during her interview in the March issue of W, and she certainly spent a great deal of timing bonding with Kassius.

Megan Fox is married; her personal life seems happier than ever

There were wedding bells for Megan Fox, the sexy actress married to longtime boyfriend Brian Austin Green. It was reported just a small, intimate ceremony at the Four Seasons Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. Staff at the hotel were not able to confirm the report.

It was the first marriage for both, although Green has an 8-year-old son, his name is Kassius, with actress Vanessa Marcil.

In celebration of exchanging vows, lovebirds Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green continue to honeymoon in Hawaii. Besides their festive beach fashion, the couple sports their wedding bands.

Brian's son Kassius joined his dad and new step-mom for the special occasion.