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N. C. islands, empty, schools close as Hurricane Ophelia approaches Paul nouiell THE ASSOCIATED PRESS I WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. — Vulnerable islands were evacuated and mainland schools were closed Tuesday as Ophelia again strengthened to a hurricane and wobbled closer to land with a threat of flooding rain. The National Hurricane Center upgraded the storms status Tuesday evening, saying maximum sustained winds had reached 75 mph, with higher gusts. The storm was graded a Category One hurricane, but the center said further strengthening was possible in the hours ahead. “I don’t really want to mess with it,” Bruce Mcllvaine of Logan Township, N.J., said as he packed to leave the Outer Banks’ Hatteras Island before his vacation ended. “You’re on a spit of land a ddzen miles into the ocean.” A hurricane warning extended from the South Santee River in South Carolina north to Oregon Inlet at Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, meaning hurricane conditions were expected within 24 hours. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning were in effect from the Oregon Inlet north to the North Carolina Virgin ia line and southward from the South Santee River to Edisto Beach in South Carolina. After taunting coastal residents for days, the storm appeared ready to move ashore, as heavy rain battered South Carolina’s northern coast and the beaches of southeastern North Carolina. In Carolina Beach, south of Wrightsville Beach, officials reported a foot of water on one road due to heavy wind and a high tide. Unlike Hurricane Katrina’s devastating charge at the Gulf Coast, the week-old Ophelia had been following a meandering path, making ' predictions of its landfall difficult^The hurricane center’s latest forecasts showed it running along the coast, then veering through Pamlico Sound, crossing the Outer Banks and heading back out to sea. Its slow movement — 4 mph Alan Hawes / The Post and Courier Surfers ride a wave Tuesday at Folly Beach, S.C. Hurricane Ophelia is closing on the Carolina coast. as of 5:30 p.m. EDT — meant heavy rain could linger over land, possibly causing serious flooding. The hurricane center said up to 15 inches of rain was possible in eastern North Carolina. At least six North Carolina counties ordered mandatory evacuations of some areas and seven others had voluntary evacuations. Along the exposed Outer Banks chain, all residents and visitors were ordered to evacuate Hatteras Island on Tuesday, visitors had been ordered off Ocracoke Island and the National Park Service closed the Cape Hatteras lighthouse and the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. Schools were closed in several coastal counties in both North and South Carolina, while classes were canceled at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and East Carolina University in Greenville. The Air Force sent some aircraft from bases in Virginia and North Carolina to airfields farther inland and moved others into hangars. With power outages expected, North Carolina utilities recalled workers they had sent to the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina. North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley said coastal residents should be prepared to go without power from two to three days. “The beaches we expect to take a real beating,” Easley said. “The bottom line is were definitely going to get flooding, not just on the coast but in low lying areas as the rivers swell from the storm surge itself.” South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had called for a voluntary evacuation of oceanfront and riverside areas in the northeastern part of his state. Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner declared a state of emergency. National Guard troops were on duty in parts of North Carolina and Virginia. • A surfer was missing along the South Carolina coast, and the search had been suspended | because of the rough sea. Texas grand jury indicts two DeLay associates in election investigation April Castro THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUSTIN — Two associates of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were indicted Tuesday on additional felony charges of violating Texas election law and criminal conspiracy to violate election law for their role in the 2002 legislative races. The indictment was the latest from a grand jury investigating the use of corporate money in the campaigns that gave Republicans control of the Texas House. In Texas, state law prohibits using corporate contributions to advocate the election or defeat of state candidates. The two men indicted Tuesday, Jim Ellis, who heads Americans for a Republican Majority, and John Colyandro, former executive director of Texans for a Republican Majority, already faced charges of money laundering in the case. Colyandro also faces 13 counts of unlawful acceptance of a corporate political contribution. The money laundering charges stem from $190,000 in corporate funds that were sent to the Republican National Party, which then spent the same amount on seven candidates for the Texas Legislature. Joe Turner, representing Colyandro, said attorneys for the Republican National Committee examined and cleared all the questioned transactions. “We don’t believe a crime was ever committed,” Turner said. Once DeLay helped Republicans win control of the state Legislature in 2002, the majority leader engineered a Republican redistricting plan that gave the state’s U.S. House delegation a 21-11 majority in the current Congress. DeLay was admonished by the House ethics committee on three matters last year, including what the panel said was improperly getting the Federal Aviation Administration to intervene in a state political dispute. The dispute involving tracking down Democratic legislators who fled the state to avoid voting on the redistricting plan. DeLay has not been charged in the criminal case in Texas, though he has close ties to individuals and groups that have been. Americans for a Republican Majority is DeLay’s national fundraising committee, and he helped create Texans for a Republican Majority. Last week, the Travis County grand jury also issued five felony indictments against Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee, which was formed by DeLay, and the Texas Association of Business. The indictments alleged the illegal ' use of corporate money for political influence. Money laundering is a first degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. V___’__) \_- '• • ■ >-;: •■ :„■ :; : •_/ v___J Be part of our trip to the away football game at Auburn on Oct. 1! Cost is $55. Price includes football ticket, seat on the charter bus, Gamecock goodie bag and one meal Tickets are on sale on a first-come, first-served basis in the Student Government office (across from Einstein Bagels). You must have a vaild student ID for the person who will occupy the seat on the chartered bus. Bus departure and return times will be determined when kick-off time is set. Preferred method of payment is by check, which can be made out to USC/SG. Last day for ticket sale is Sept. 26.