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We’re still waiting for the official word from the National Hurricane Center, but the tropical meteorology folks in the U.S. Navy have already made their call: Tropical Depression 4 is now Tropical Storm Dean. Its ultimate path is still unclear, and it might not become much clearer until the hurricane hunter planes take a look — at the moment, that’s apparently scheduled for Thursday. But given the neighborhood it’s tracking through and its potential to grow, it’s a good idea for anyone from Florida to the Carolinas to keep an eye on it.

<p>PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) -- Bill Flemming, a longtime ABC sports broadcaster who covered events as varied as the Olympics, college football and cliff diving, has died. He was 80.</p> <p>Flemming died Friday of prostate cancer in Petoskey, a Lake Michigan town near his summer cottage, his daughter, Lindy Flemming of Larkspur, Calif., said Tuesday.</p>

NORTH MANATEE – The FBI has been called in to help local police search for a 13-year-old boy who was abducted at gunpoint this morning as he waited for a school bus in the Kingsfield Lakes subdivision in rural North Manatee County. A statewide Amber Alert has been issued in the case. Police at noon updated the description of the suspect, now listed as a tanned white man, or possibly Hispanic man, in his 30s with a distinctive, bushy mustache who was last seen driving a red or burgundy Ford Ranger pick-up truck. The victim, 13-year-old Clay Moore, is white,...

The great singer-songwriter and performer Billy Preston, the real "Fifth Beatle," has died after a long illness as a result of malignant hypertension that resulted in kidney failure and other complications. As a result of a medical insult, he'd been in a deep coma since last November 21, but was still struggling to recover. He died at Shea Scottsdale Hospital in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he'd lived for the last couple of years. Billy was called the Fifth Beatle because he played keyboards on "Let It Be," "The White Album" and "Abbey Road." He also played on the Rolling Stones' hit...

In stores tomorrow, you might find this in the CD racks ... Ministry's new "Rio Grande Blood" album. Revolting beyond belief.

LOS ANGELES - Rick Monday never tires of answering questions about that memorable day 30 years ago, when he performed his own Patriot Act and unwittingly became an icon to millions of American war heroes and their loved ones. Monday was playing center field for the Chicago Cubs on April 25, 1976, at Dodger Stadium when he noticed two protesters kneeling on the grass in left-center, intending to burn the American flag. He immediately bolted toward them and snatched it away. "I was angry when I saw them start to do something to the flag, and I'm glad that I...

Michael Vale, the actor best known for his portrayal of a sleepy-eyed Dunkin' Donuts baker who said "Time to make the donuts," has died, his family said on Tuesday. He was 83 years old. Vale's long-running character, "Fred the Baker," became a cultural icon. The ad campaign lasted 15 years, until Vale retired in 1997. Vale died Saturday in New York City of complications from diabetes, according to son-in law Rick Reil.

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Gamma formed Friday off the coast of Central America, with long-range forecasts indicating it could threaten Florida by the beginning of next week. The long-term track from the National Hurricane Center indicated that Gamma may take a track similar to Wilma's and head northeast toward the Florida Peninsula. Wilma tore across the southern portion of the state on Oct. 24, causing widespread damage and power outages.

An amber alert has just been issued regarding a missing child in Hialeah. The Hialeah Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are looking for Dialys Ramos, a white female, 17 years old, 5 feet 02 inches tall, 105 pounds, auburn hair, and green eyes. The child was last seen at the 500th block of East 35th St. and is believed to be in danger. Authorities say the child was likely abducted by Robert Laird, a black male, 39 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 180 pounds, black hair, and brown eyes. They may be traveling...

Pop singer Michael Jackson is reportedly planning to record an album accompanied by his three children, it was reported Monday. According to the New York Post, Jackson, 47, who reached fame as the lead singer of The Jackson 5, plans to sing with his children, eight-year-old son Prince Michael, seven-year-old daughter Paris and three-year-old son Prince Michael II, called Blanket. The star has been laying down tracks in a London recording studio. Jackson has forbidden his ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, to tell their children that she is their mother.

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Film, stage and TV star Sheree North, best known for her roles on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Seinfeld," has died in Los Angeles at age 72. North died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from complications of surgery, her daughter told Monday's Los Angeles Times. The platinum blonde bombshell of 1950s Hollywood played Lou Grant's girlfriend, Charlene Maguire, in the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" and Kramer's mom, Babs, on "Seinfield."

BOSTON - Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein resigned Monday, a stunning move that surprised the baseball world one year after he helped build Boston's first World Series championship team since 1918. The 31-year-old Epstein was reportedly offered about $4.5 million for a three-year extension - quadruple his previous salary. But it was still short of the $2.5 million a year the Red Sox offered Oakland's Billy Beane in 2002 before making Epstein the youngest GM in baseball history.

NEW YORK - Jets quarterback Chad Pennington will miss the rest of the season because of a torn right rotator cuff, The Associated Press learned Monday night. Pennington's injury was confirmed by a person with knowledge of his condition, but who declined to be identified because the team had not made an official announcement. An MRI exam showed Pennington tore his rotator cuff in Sunday's 26-20 overtime loss to Jacksonville. The NFL Network originally reported the injury, the second time Pennington has had this tear in less than a year.

CARDIFF, Wales - British foreign policy played a role in motivating the July 7 London bombings, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens said Tuesday. Yusuf Islam, who had a string of pop hits in the 1960s and '70s, said an al-Qaida video claiming responsibility for the attacks and linking them to Britain's role in the Middle East showed foreign policy "was not the only factor but it was a major contributory." "At the same time we have to look at how the teaching of Islam has been distorted," he added. Speaking at the opening of Cardiff University's Centre for...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Michael Jackson, who has been in seclusion since his acquittal on sex abuse charges, has written a song that he will record to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina, his publicist said on Tuesday. Jackson will record the single, "From the Bottom of My Heart," within two weeks, and he plans to enlist other entertainers for the project, spokeswoman Raymone Bain said. "It pains me to watch the human suffering taking place in the Gulf region of my country," Jackson, 47, said in a written statement. "My heart and prayers go out to every individual...

An online thesaurus struck a listing Monday for the word "Arab" after Arab-American groups complained the entry listed derogatory synonyms. The entry, which appeared on thesaurus.com, listed the word as a noun meaning "beggar," and gave 16 pejorative synonyms including "homeless person" and "welfare bum." The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee contacted the synonym book's online publisher Friday to complain about the entry; the American Arab Forum also criticized the listing on Monday. "I looked it up and I couldn't believe what I was seeing," said Aref Assaf, president of the American Arab Forum, which is based in Paterson.

HAVANA (AP) — Ibrahim Ferrer, a leading voice with the hugely popular Buena Vista Social Club of vintage Cuban performers, died Saturday, his representative in Cuba said. He was 78. The Montuno production company did not give a cause of death, but Ferrer’s colleagues said he suffered from emphysema and was feeling ill earlier in the week. Known for his trademark cap and graying mustache, Ferrer was a wiry, animated figure who clearly enjoyed performing Cuba’s traditional “son” music of the 1940s and 1950s for new generations of fans. Among a group of older Cuban performers recruited by U.S. musician...

NYT is reporting that Eugene Record, the leader of the 1970s harmony group the Chi-Lites, which scored hits with mellifluous soul ballads like “Oh Girl” and “Have You Seen Her?,” died on Friday. He was 64. The cause was cancer, Jack Bart, the president of the group’s booking agency, told The Associated Press. The place of death was not announced.

LONDON - Laurel Aitken, the man known as Britain's "Godfather of Ska," has died of a heart attack in Leicester, England at age 78. London's Club Ska said Aitken, also known as "Boss Skinhead," died Sunday night at Glenfield Hospital, Punknews.org reported Tuesday. Aitken was born April 22, 1927, in Cuba and moved with his father to Jamaica in 1938. His first recording was the 1957 single "Roll Jordan Roll." His later cut the first ska record, "Little Sheila"/"Boogie in my Bones," which was also the first record released on Chris Blackwell's Island Records and the first Jamaican record released...

AP NEWS ALERT: NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram has died at age 82.