AROUND THE STATE

Paloma: second most powerful November hurricane

Hurricane Paloma, which dissipated on Sunday after slamming into Cuba, will go down in history
as the second most powerful November hurricane on record.

The Category 4 system reached peak sustained winds of 145 mph while in the Caribbean. Only Hurricane Lenny in 1999 was stronger; its sustained winds surged to 155 mph, just shy of Category 5, while near St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

When Paloma formed, it marked the first time on record that a major hurricane developed in five consecutive months during a season. The six-month hurricane season in the Atlantic officially ends Nov. 30.

AROUND THE NATION

Minnesota officials prepare for Senate race recount

The Coleman and Franken campaigns traded shots Nov. 10 as counties in Minnesota completed the process of certifying their vote tallies and officials prepared to start recounting nearly 3 million ballots in the U.S. Senate race.

Six days after the election, unofficial results showed Republican Sen. Norm Coleman leading Democratic challenger Al Franken by 206 votes, a difference of about 1/100th of 1 percent that sets the stage for the automatic hand recount that will begin next week. Nov. 10 was the deadline for counties to certify their results.

AROUND THE WORLD

Warning to Iraq if agreement on American forces fails

Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, informed Iraqi officials last week that if their country doesn’t agree to a new agreement governing American forces in Iraq, it would lose $6.3 billion in aid for construction, security forces and economic activity and another $10 billion a year in foreign military sales.

Iraqi officials consider the threat serious and worry that the agreement could lead to a crisis in Iraq.

McClatchy-Tribune news service.