Andy Swanson walked into the gymnasium at Ozark Christian College shortly after dawn Wednesday, not sure what the day would bring. Maybe he would work for a Red Cross first-aid station, where Swanson, a 61-year-old emergency medical technician at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, could treat wounds and help dispense prescriptions. Or maybe he would be part of a three-person condolence team, visiting people who’d lost family members in Sunday’s EF-5 tornado, which killed at least 123 people, a number that could rise in coming days as the 1,500 people reported missing are found – or aren’t. But really it didn’t matter what he did. Like the 100 fellow America Red Cross volunteers and hundreds more disaster-relief volunteers flocking to this southwestern Missouri city of 50,000, Swanson just wanted to help. What these volunteers would see when they reached this tornado’s nearly mile-wide path of destruction was as mind-boggling in its scope as it was head-scratching in its peculiarity. Generations-old trees, completely uprooted and resting on their sides. Roofless houses, covered with tarps and stretching as far as the eye could see – and then, inside one of them, gucci outlet a china cabinet that remained untouched. An electric substation that was now a twisted pile of metal. A street light that was snapped in half, but with an unbroken light bulb inside. A tiny, barking Corgie, running circles around a giant John Deere tractor whose jaws clenched onto a few cubic yards of damaged trees. And block after block of trees, shorn of bark and limbs but still standing tall – perhaps an appropriate metaphor as this city starts to rebuild. In the middle of it all stood Phillip Peck, handing out water and food. Peck is a facilities manager for Postal Federal Community Credit Union. As he walked the blocks of destruction, he was still amazed the local branch of his credit union barely suffered damage, while the nine-story hospital across the street, St. John’s Regional Medical Center, was obliterated. “You can see this on TV, but until you put your feet on the ground and see these crazy things, you realize the force of nature: just a bunch of air molecules going really fast,” Peck said. Day Three of recovery began at first light. Some 1,500 people waited in line for more than two hours Wednesday morning to get a permit to enter the tornado-affected zone. As scores of garbage trucks rumbled down the streets of Joplin, the American Red Cross prepared another batch of 50 trained volunteers. The need was huge. With massive tornadoes and flooding, this season has been the Red Cross’ busiest disaster season since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a spokeswoman said. A shelter housed 170 people the first couple nights then doubled its capacity to 350 Tuesday night. “In Joplin, everyone is family, everyone knows each other, and we have to be sensitive to their issues,” Marita Wenner, a Red Cross volunteer from Pennsylvania who was in charge of the Joplin operation, told the new group. “We have staff coming in from all over. But all disasters are local. This disaster is going to go on long after these people have left. Twenty years of disaster experience and this is the worst I’ve seen by far.” Disaster relief wasn’t restricted to official volunteers. Amy Rogers, an Ankeny native who now lives in Joplin with her husband and two-year-old son, went house to house on Monday to help with search and rescue efforts. Tuesday night, as another massive thunderstorm rumbled through southwestern Missouri, the family hid in the basement of a high school. On Wednesday morning, she thought back to not even a month ago, when she watched television reports of the destructive tornadoes in Alabama. That seemed so awful, but that seemed so far away. “It’s almost like we’re still in that mindset, not like we’re watching what’s right down the road,” she said.

Mike Brown left the epicenter of the N.B.A. last summer when his Cleveland Cavaliers imploded in the playoffs against the Boston Celtics and LeBron James arrived at his long-speculated free agency. Before James made The Decision to leave for Miami, the Cavaliers reached their own and dismissed Brown, who had steered the Cavaliers to the N.B.A.’s best record for two seasons, but not to a championship. It appears Brown is on the verge of re-entering the N.B.A.’s main stage by coaching the Los Angeles Lakers and its superstar, Kobe Bryant. Brown and the Lakers verbally agreed to a four-year contract, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations who are not authorized to speak publicly about the deal. “In response to nike free run rampant speculation and reports about our head coaching position and Mike Brown, we’ve met with Mike and are very impressed by him,” the Lakers said in a statement Wednesday. “In addition, we have an outline for an agreement in place and hope to sign a contract within the next few days.” Brown will assume the coaching reins from Jackson, who retired with a record 11 championships, the last five earned in Los Angeles. The two have contrasting coaching styles: Brown preaches defense first, while Jackson emphasized the benefits and purity of his triangle offense. Brown, 41, compiled a record of 272-138 in Cleveland and won coach of the year honors in 2009. “Mike Brown is a great coach,” James told reporters Wednesday as Miami prepared for Game 5 against the Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals. “He brought us success that we hadn’t had before in that city, and it started with his defensive concepts. He brought in a defensive mind-set that we didn’t have.” BULLS’ ASIK HAS BROKEN LEG Omer Asik, the Chicago Bulls’ backup center, will miss the rest of the postseason because of a broken left fibula.

A deadly string of tornadoes and thunderstorms rampaged Tuesday through central Oklahoma, killing at least four people, injuring dozens and destroying homes and vehicles, officials said. Tornado warnings were in effect late Tuesday in Dallas and several northern Texas counties, according to the National Weather Service, with at least one twister reported to be on the ground with several others reported to be forming. Canadian County, Oklahoma, Sheriff Randall Edwards told CNN a large tornado that crossed I-40 near El Reno destroyed residences and caused a gas leak at an energy plant west of the state capital. Four people died in the county, said Cherokee Ballard, spokesperson for the state medical examiner. The twister injured motorists on I-40 and U.S. 81, Canadian County Emergency Management Director Jerry Smith said. Deputies tended to the injured, Christian Louboutin Shoes and there were reports of property damage in the area. El Reno city spokesman Terry Floyd said 20 workers were injured at a drilling rig. Another tornado was seen at Chickasha, about 40 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. It later reached Newcastle, before pushing through Moore and Norman, suburbs of Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service warned residents and I-44 drivers to take precautionary action. About 1,200 people packed a shelter in Newcastle, a bedroom community near Oklahoma City, during the storm, said City Manager Nick Nazar. "That saved lives." "We have been extremely lucky," he said. "Minor injuries so far." About 100 people were displaced, and 50 homes were rendered uninhabitable, Nazar told CNN. Two or three businesses were damaged, as was an elementary school. Statewide, at least 60 people were hurt and nearly 58,000 homes lost power, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Damage was reported in at least 14 counties. The tornado that passed through Chickasha also damaged several other communities, including Newcastle. "It came right past the store," said Chickasha AutoZone employee Nathaniel Charlton. "They had a little debris thrown across the parking lot. It was on the ground, but it wasn't bad." Sirens went off about 20 minutes before the storm pushed through, Charlton told CNN. State officials received reports of damaged businesses in Chickasha. "This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation," the National Weather Service said during the storms. No tornado damage was immediately reported within Oklahoma City's borders. More twisters and severe thunderstorms were expected to push through the lower Plains and threaten Joplin, Missouri, which was devastated by a tornado on Sunday. The weather agency's Storm Prediction Center in Norman was briefly evacuated and employees took shelter as a tornado approached, a spokesman told CNN. Gov. Mary Fallin said residents should take tornado warnings and reports "very seriously." "We're still in the middle of a big storm," she told CNN's John King as strong storms moved across her state Tuesday evening. First responders were heading toward communities that have reported damage to homes, Fallin said. Randy McCown, administrator at First Baptist Church of Piedmont, northwest of Oklahoma City, said the church was operating as a shelter for residents of 15 to 20 damaged or destroyed homes. CNN Oklahoma City affiliates broadcast images of funnel clouds that dumped rain as they moved into more populated areas. KWTV broadcast images of destroyed and damaged homes in El Reno. The University of Oklahoma, based in Norman, on Tuesday afternoon suspended classes at its three campuses. At Norman's Tarahumara Restaurant, which specializes in Mexican food, all 20 employees showed up for work, though none of the customers did for nearly two hours preceding the storm's arrival, said Manager Juan de Leon. As the storm struck at about 5:45 p.m., he and the wait staff watched news programs on the restaurant's 10 television sets in fear, he said. But when it hit, they were unimpressed. "Just rain," said de Leon in a telephone interview. "It looked like normal rain." Hail was mixed in, but the bits of ice were nothing special, "little bitty ones," he said. Two hours later, he said, the restaurant had filled up and it was business as usual. Tornado watches were in effect Tuesday evening in Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. In anticipation of the severe weather, American Airlines canceled 126 arriving and departing flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, spokesman Ed Martelle told CNN. Operations were suspended late Tuesday afternoon at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. The Storm Prediction Center said the high-risk area for severe storms includes southern Kansas, most of Oklahoma and southward into Texas. Surrounding the high-risk area is a large "moderate"-risk area where tornadoes are possible. This includes the cities of Dallas; Kansas City, Missouri; Springfield, Missouri; and Joplin. A tornado was reported Tuesday in the Texas community of Bedford. The tornado that struck Joplin on Sunday killed at least 124 people, authorities said Tuesday, making it the deadliest single U.S. tornado since modern record-keeping began more than 60 years ago.

The team of Islamist militants knew exactly where the naval base's weak spot was. Dressed in black and armed with AK-47 rifles, grenades and rocket launchers, they crept up to the back wall of Mehran Naval Station in Karachi, keeping clear of security cameras. Then, with just a pair of ladders, they clambered over the wall, cutting through barbed wire at the top, to launch a 17-hour siege that would renew disturbing questions about the Pakistani military's ability to defend sensitive installations, including its nuclear arsenal. The team, believed to consist of four to six militants, destroyed two U.S.-supplied maritime surveillance aircraft and engaged security forces in hours of pitched firefights. It was not until late Monday afternoon that Pakistani forces regained full control of the facility. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said 10 Pakistani security personnel were killed and 15 were injured. Four militants died and two were believed to have escaped, he said. The Pakistani Taliban, the country's homegrown insurgency with ties to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said was meant to avenge the May 2 killing of Osama bin Laden in the military city of Abbottabad. The breach is likely to raise worries among leaders in the United States and Europe about the security of Pakistan's approximately 100 nuclear weapons. "I'm sure there will be concerns around the world about this, there's no doubt about it," said security analyst Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general. "I think Pakistan will have to make certain that anything like this cannot be repeated from the standpoint of nuclear installations." Masood called the siege "a very strong indictment of Pakistan and its security forces and their ability to defend themselves. It will have a very demoralizing effect on the people, because if the security forces are unable to secure themselves and defend themselves, air max 2011 what expectations can the people have that the security forces will be able to defend the population?" In Washington, retired Army Lt. Gen. David W. Barno said the attack "comes at a tough time for the Pakistani military. Not only was the U.S. able to infiltrate Pakistan and kill Osama bin Laden under their noses, now militants attack a Pakistani base. This has a shock value." Barno, who led the military command in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005 and now is a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security, said the U.S. military is increasingly concerned that militant sympathizers appear to have infiltrated Pakistan's military and intelligence services. The siege at the naval base in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and its financial capital, began about 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Interior Minister Malik said the militants avoided the base's heavily fortified front gate, instead approaching from behind, near the Shah Faisal Colony, a low-income neighborhood where Islamist militants have been arrested in the past. They crossed a small stream behind the base, then used one of the ladders they had brought with them. Malik said the militants apparently knew about a gap in the coverage of two security cameras and chose that location to get inside. They placed the second ladder on the inside of the wall, climbed down, and darted toward the two large surveillance aircraft, kept in a hangar. "They used very tactfully, intelligently, the place where there's a gap where both cameras could not see," Malik said. Once on the tarmac, they blew up one of two P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft, given to the Pakistani navy by the U.S. in June. The explosion of the craft's fuel tank destroyed the second surveillance plane nearby. The aircraft had special equipment for the detection of submarines and were used for maritime patrols. Seventeen foreigners — six American and 11 Chinese workers — who were at the base when the siege began were unhurt. U.S. Embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said the Americans were private contractors providing technical support for the surveillance aircraft. They were not connected with the embassy. Of the 10 Pakistani security personnel killed, three were Navy commandos and one was a navy lieutenant who led a team of commandos to confront the militants once they had reached the surveillance aircraft, Malik said. Three of the militants were shot to death by Pakistani security forces. The fourth went inside an office building at the base and detonated the explosives vest he was wearing. Malik said security forces were checking to see whether the militant had set any booby traps in the building. Peter W. Galbraith, former deputy U.N. representative to Afghanistan, said the siege was not necessarily "indicative that the military is incompetent." "It is the dynamic of having lots of military locations and militants that can try to fight their way onto one of them," said Galbraith, now a fellow at the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. In October 2009, militants stormed the army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and took hostages, setting off a 22-hour standoff that ended in the deaths of 23 people, including nine militants. For militants to infiltrate sites storing the nuclear arsenal would require a level of sophistication not yet seen by the groups, Galbraith said. "It is one thing to be able to get 18 people into a secure base and kill 12 security guards. It is another thing to try to grab a nuclear weapon and take it out. And then what would they do it? Some of these concerns are overwrought." At the same time, Galbraith said, there is a general concern about Pakistan, "a country building a lot of nuclear weapons. For what? That is troubling." Barno agreed that U.S. officials had "pretty high confidence" in the security of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal, having received repeated assurances that Pakistan maintains a complex system of safeguards, including storing the weapons unassembled and away from the launch apparatus. The Pakistani Taliban had vowed to avenge Bin Laden's killing with attacks on both Pakistanis and Americans. Their first major retaliatory strike came May 13, when twin suicide bombings killed at least 80 Pakistani paramilitary force recruits in the northwestern town of Shabqadar. On Friday, a car bombing targeted two U.S. Consulate vehicles in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing a Pakistani bystander and slightly injuring the Americans.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says authorities have found another 10 people alive in the wreckage left by a tornado that killed 116, bringing the number of rescued survivors to 17. But Nixon says he fears the number killed by the storm that slammed into the southwest Missouri city of Joplin on Sunday evening will grow higher as search and rescue efforts continue. Nixon told The Associated Press on Monday night he doesn't even want to guess how high the death toll will eventually climb, but he says: "Clearly, it's on its way up." The tornado tore a six-mile-long, half-mile wide path through the middle of Joplin. Christian Louboutin Much of the city's south side was leveled, with churches, schools, businesses and homes reduced to ruins by winds close to 200 mph. In August 2005, Armstrong watched his 1999 Tour de France title fall under scrutiny again when the French sports daily L'Equipe reported that his urine sample from the race, retested years later for research purposes not for sanctioning, revealed the presence of EPO. Armstrong went public and assailed the French lab for its sloppiness. Months later, Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman, who was hired by the UCI to lead an investigation into the French lab, supported Armstrong's claim of lax record-keeping at the lab in a 132-page report. In his interview with 60 Minutes, Hamilton says Armstrong used EPO during his 1999 Tour de France victory. SI previously reported that, following the L'Equipe report, a lawyer for Armstrong was granted a private meeting with EPO experts at the UCLA Olympic lab to discuss drug-testing protocols. 60 Minutes reported that Armstrong and Postal team director Johan Bruyneel met with the director of the lab responsible for his Tour de Suisse tests. As SI reported previously, allegations by teammates that Armstrong used EPO go back even before his first Tour win. Stephen Swart, Armstrong's teammate on the 1995 Motorola team told SI that he was on a training ride with Armstrong after a race in Italy in March 1995 when Armstrong, disappointed with the team's results, suggested the riders start taking EPO. "He was the instigator," says Swart, who admitted to using EPO after that conversation with Armstrong. "It was his words that pushed us toward doing it. It was his advice, his discussions."

Calling it "a matter of public safety" and "national significance," the nation's top official in charge of forecasting hurricanes and tornadoes in the United States warned Thursday that recent wrangling over the federal budget could end up stripping the federal government of its ability to predict devastating storms. Researchers and analysts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, air yeezy or NOAA, rely on a network of satellites to gather the data necessary to predict and monitor storms. But those satellites only have a "finite lifespan," and the funds to replace them are in danger of getting cut, according to NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco. "We are now in a situation where because we have insufficient funds in the (latest) budget, we're likely looking at a period of time -- a few years down the road -- where we will not be able to do severe storm warnings and long-term weather forecasts that people have come to expect today," Lubchenco told reporters. "The future funding for our satellite program… is very much in limbo right now." Lubchenco said she has "concerns" about the capabilities of the current satellite system, adding later, "It's mind boggling that we wouldn't fund this." In particular, she said, NOAA was planning to launch a new satellite in a couple of years to replace one currently in orbit, but the current short-term spending bill passed by Congress last month provides "insufficient funds" for that to happen. Asked whether she truly believes members of Congress would let something like the U.S. government's ability to predict severe storms lapse, Lubchenco didn't offer a direct answer. With lawmakers focused on dollar amounts, she said, she's trying to emphasize the consequences of their proposed cuts. Nevertheless, Lubchenco said some satellites currently in place are "doing a spectacular job," citing the recent "five-day heads-up" given to residents in the path of some strong tornadoes. Lubchenco was speaking to reporters outside her agency's Climate Prediction Center in Suitland, Md., where she was joined by Federal Emergency Management administrator Craig Fugate to announce the outlook for this year's hurricane season, which begins June 1. Officials are predicting an "above-normal" hurricane season this year, with up to 18 named storms and as many as six that could become category five hurricanes. It's too early, though, to predict whether any of those storms would reach land. Lubchenco said preparation is vitally important, and it only takes one storm to "wreak devastation." Fugate has his own outlook for this season. "I'll issue my forecast: Far too many people will not be prepared and will try to get ready in the last minutes when the hurricanes threaten their community, and won't have enough time," he said. Fugate urged people along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Coast to figure out now whether they live in an evacuation zone. He also warned against so-called "hurricane amnesia." "This is a problem along any of these areas where people forget (the) risk or feel that they have some sort of immunity because of the coastline, or the history, or the classic 'I've lived here all my life, I've never had a hurricane,'" he said. "If you live along the Gulf Coast, if you live along the Atlantic Coast, you have your notice: This is going to be an above-average season." As for what's next for NOAA's satellites, Lubchenco said her agency is currently "working very closely with Congress." "We are hopeful that we will be able to get the funding to get this program back on track," she said.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund accused of sexually assaulting a hotel housekeeper, was granted bail Thursday even as prosecutors said a grand jury voted to indict him on seven counts. Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who had been favored in most French polls to defeat President Nicolas Sarkozy as the Socialist Party candidate in 2012 elections, has been in police custody ever since being pulled off a flight to France May 14. On Thursday, New York State Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus gave Strauss-Kahn a get out of jail card as long as he posted a $1 million cash bail, 2011 air max agreed to wear an electronic monitoring device, surrendered all his passports to the government, and hired armed guards to make sure he does not violate his house arrest. He was also required to post a $5 million bond. Strauss-Kahn case: 4 ways French and American law differ At the same time, prosecutors announced that a Manhattan Grand Jury voted to indict the IMF’s former managing director on seven charges, including four felonies and three misdemeanors. The felonies reportedly include attempt to commit rape and criminal sexual acts and sexual abuse. Strauss-Kahn, who is maintaining his innocence, is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, when the indictment will be unsealed. Granting Strauss-Kahn bail might help to calm French anger since many French citizens were appalled to see an individual who was so highly regarded in politics being held at Rikers Island, New York’s jail. The bail agreement will reunite Strauss-Kahn with his wife, Ann Sinclair, an American-born journalist, and his daughter, who is a graduate student in New York. On Thursday, prosecutors continued to maintain he was a flight risk and opposed the bail package. A key factor is that France will not extradite its own citizens. “Our position is there is no bail package at this time that would ensure his return,” said Assistant District Attorney John McConnell. “This court must be satisfied that he will come back.... His own conduct in this case has shown a propensity for impulsive criminal conduct.” In his letter of resignation to the IMF on Wednesday, Strauss-Kahn said he wanted to devote all his strength, time and energy to proving his innocence. “I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me,” he wrote. Strauss-Kahn resignation: Who are his potential successors? At the hearing, prosecutors maintained their case was growing stronger and that the forensic evidence would help them prove their case. Outside lawyers say it’s normal for individuals accused of sexual assault to have some kind of bail set. “It’s a serious crime obviously, but in the overwhelming majority of cases a judge will set some kind of bail,” says Alan Kaufman, a former federal prosecutor, now a partner at the New York law firm Kelley Drye & Warren. “He is entitled to some bail but the purpose is to assure he appears in court when he is required to.” For example, after Kobe Bryant was accused of sexual assault in July of 2003, he was released on $25,000 bail. Those charges were ultimately dropped in 2004. It will still be some time until Strauss-Kahn’s case actually goes to trial. “Unless there is a plea nothing happens within six months and a year,” says James Cohen, associate professor of law at Fordham University in New York. “The prosecution will be finishing up all the forensics – only on ‘CSI’ do they give you a phone call after it’s finished – and will be re-interviewing witnesses.” The defense will spend a lot of effort researching the background of the housekeeper who is alleging the assault, says Mr. Cohen. “They will make it look like she’s lying, they will put her through a lot,” he says. The housekeeper has apparently already hired her own lawyer who may file a civil lawsuit against Strauss-Kahn. “I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point one of her representatives reached out to see what kind of numbers are on the table,” says Cohen. If the sum were large enough, he says, then the housekeeper might suddenly decide that it was all some misunderstanding. “It sounds sinister, but money can do that,” he says. After the Bryant case was dropped, he settled a civil suit that was filed by the complainant. If the hotel housekeeper does sue Strauss-Kahn, the civil lawsuit can be used in the criminal defense to potentially impugn the alleged victim’s motive. However, Cohen says, if Strauss-Kahn did commit the crime, “she deserves a sizeable sum of money.”

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday evening acknowledged the painful legacy between Britain and Ireland but stressed the importance of bowing to the past without being bound by it. Speaking at a state banquet at St. Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle, the British Queen said no one who looked to the future over the past centuries could have imagined the strength of the bonds that now exist between the two islands. "So much of this visit reminds us of the complexity of our history, its many layers and traditions, but also the importance of forbearance and conciliation. Of being able to bow to the past, but not be bound by it. It is a sad gucci outlet and regrettable reality that through history our islands have experienced more than their fair share of heartache, turbulence and loss. "These events have touched us all, many of us personally, and are a painful legacy. We can never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families. To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy. With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all," she said. The Queen's speech was in response to and address by Irish President Mary McAleese who said that although the past cannot be changed both nations have chosen to change the future. "W.B. Yeats once wrote in another context that 'peace comes dropping slow.' The journey to peace has been cruelly slow and arduous but it has taken us to a place where hope thrives and the past no longer threatens to overwhelm our present and our future. The legacy of the Good Friday Agreement is already profound and encouraging. We all of us have a duty to protect, nurture and develop it," said McAleese. The state banquet was attended by over 160 dignitaries from the worlds of politics, religion, the arts and sport. One of those in attendance was British Prime Minister David Cameron who was on his first official visit to Ireland. The banquet at Dublin Castle was the culmination of the second day of the Queen's four-day visit to the Irish Republic, the first ever visit by a reigning British monarch to Ireland.

Ratcheting up pressure to halt a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, the Obama administration for the first time slapped economic sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad and his top aides. The penalties announced Wednesday, a day before President Obama is to deliver a major speech on the sweeping political turmoil in the Arab world, suggest that the White House is giving up hope that the measured approach it has taken so far can persuade Assad to allow greater freedoms and break his alliance with Iran. In a letter to Congress, Obama called the sanctions a response to "continuous escalation of violence against the people of Syria." However, he stopped short of calling for Assad to step down. The sanctions came as violence broke out late Tuesday and Wednesday in the western city of Homs and the far northern city of Aleppo, where students clashed with plainclothes security forces. A nationwide strike, to be followed by a day of demonstrations Friday, had mixed results. Merchants and workers in the cities of Homs, Idlib, Qamishli, Dara and Baniyas stayed home, according to Syrian activists. But daily life was unaffected in Damascus, the capital. "Damascus didn't participate in the strike because as the capital, it is the home of centralized security and intelligence forces and this leaves no room for dissent," said Shaheen, an activist reached in Syria via Skype. He asked that his last name not be published. The latest U.S. sanctions target Assad, the vice president, prime minister and interior and defense ministers, as well as the director of military intelligence and political security. The measure freezes any assets they hold in U.S. jurisdiction, and make it illegal for Americans to do business with them. Since the Syrian regime is not known to keep significant assets in U.S. banks or investments, the move is mostly a message that it is facing growing isolation from the international community. Treasury officials could offer no estimate of how much money Assad and his ministers have in the United States; analysts said their money was more likely to be in Europe or the Middle East. The European Union is expected to tighten its own sanctions as a result of the U.S. action, officials said. The Obama administration has condemned the violent crackdown by Syrian security forces and several weeks ago it imposed similar sanctions on second-tier officials air yeezy in Damascus. But it had faced growing criticism on Capitol Hill and elsewhere for not acting more forcefully. Human rights groups say the Assad government has killed more than 800 protesters since demonstrations erupted two months ago in the wake of pro-democracy revolutions ousting autocratic rulers in Tunisia and Egypt. In his speech Thursday, Obama will seek to explain his varying responses to the wave of uprisings that have spread across North Africa and the Middle East this year, ranging from relative caution with Syria and Bahrain, to strong words with Egypt, to spurring an international military operation in Libya. The sanctions "send an unequivocal message to President Assad, the Syrian leadership, and regime insiders that they will be held accountable for the ongoing repression and violence in Syria," David S. Cohen, the Treasury Department's top sanctions official, said in a statement. The administration hinted that it may soon urge Assad to give up power, but other signs suggest U.S. officials still hope that under continuing pressure, he will reform his regime, one of the harshest dictatorships in the region. Cohen said Assad and his government "must immediately end the use of violence, answer the calls of the Syrian people for a more representative government, and embark upon the path of meaningful reform." Middle East experts said the mixed message reflects U.S. anxieties — and that of many of its Middle East allies — that Assad's ouster could lead to sectarian warfare in Syria, or perhaps an even more repressive government. They also warn that Assad may cling to power despite international pressure, and may react by fomenting violence in neighboring Israel and Lebanon. David Schenker, a former Pentagon adviser on the region now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the administration "still hasn't gone all the way — they continue to have only one toe in the pond here… It's bizarre." Steven A. Cook, a Middle East specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the reluctance to call for Assad's ouster was "curious." U.S. officials, he added, "clearly are concerned about the threat of chaos, and want to defer to the neighbors." The Treasury also broadened the sanctions imposed last month to cover 10 more individuals and groups for their alleged role in human rights abuses and repression in Syria. The new targets include two senior officials of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which U.S. officials believe has aided the Syrian regime in its crackdown. The United States has long-standing sanctions in place that limit U.S. companies from trade and investment in Syria. US officials have said that with limited ties between the two countries, they have little leverage with the regime, however. In Syria, Assad's security forces continued an assault on Tall Kalakh, along the Lebanese border, for a fourth day. The city has been pounded by with tanks, and had communications cut since Sunday. Hundreds of families have fled to Lebanon. Radwan Ziadeh, director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Policy, said 26 people had been killed in the last week, citing medical sources.Syrian officials alleged that "terrorist cells" linked to Lebanon were responsible for the violence in Tall Kalakh. Ziadeh, who is currently in Washington, also said a mass grave had been discovered near the southern city of Dara, the focal point of the Syrian uprising. He said the victims include women and children killed by security forces, and that he expects more mass graves to be found in Dara and elsewhere. "Bodies are still inside the houses and the national stadium," he said. "The security forces have handed over a total of 65 bodies so far, 5 to 10 each day to avoid a national uproar." The U.N. estimated last week that between 700 and 850 people had been killed in the uprising, but Ziadeh said he expected the final death toll to be much higher.

Tony Oliva and Julio Becquer sat at a table in the Target Field interview room Tuesday afternoon talking about the close friendship they shared with Harmon Killebrew. They had lost a friend. But it was the tributes that came from Kent Hrbek, Paul Molitor and Jack Morris that were the most touching. The Minnesota natives and former Twins hadn't just lost a friend, they also had lost someone who was their boyhood hero long before they stepped on a major league field. Morris was the last player to talk about Killebrew, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 74 after a six-month battle with esophageal cancer. Known as a hard-nosed, gritty competitor during his playing days, Morris made no attempt to hide his emotions. His eyes watering and his voice cracking, Morris paid tribute to Killebrew, saying, "I lost a hero." "The one thing that hits home the most with Harmon is his strength," Morris continued. "Not as a player but as a person. In his strength and his kindness. To me, juicy couture outelt he was a real man, he was all man, because he loved so much. He is this family that we call the Minnesota Twins." Killebrew's family released a statement last Friday that the Hall of Fame slugger's battle with cancer was near an end and that he was entering hospice care. "I think at this point, I think it's more of a celebration of his life than it is a mourning of his death for me," Morris said. "I'll always remember the good in Harmon and like Paul and like Kent to remember the innocence of being a young kid who just looked up to a guy he didn't know because of what he did as a baseball player that you hoped that maybe someday you could be like. As a grown man now, I look back at him not as that guy but as the guy that tried to show me you don't have to be angry, you don't have to be mad. You can love and share love." Hrbek, who grew up in the shadow of Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington and would sit in the left field seats hoping to catch a Killebrew home run as a kid, said Killebrew "was to me Paul Bunyan with a uniform on." Molitor, Oliva and Becquer all made trips to the Scottsdale, Ariz., area last weekend to say goodbye to Killebrew. Oliva and Becquer went together and found Killebrew in good spirits on Saturday before things took a turn for the worse on Sunday. "Killebrew was laughing and that was happy for me because I was thinking I would go see him in very bad shape and when I saw him laughing and talking it was a big surprise for me," Oliva said. "That was Saturday and I was happy for me to have that opportunity to get there and see him in person. Sunday was a different story. I came back and was visiting and he was very down. You could see he was hurting. He said, 'You know I love you.'" Twins President Dave St. Peter said Tuesday afternoon that details for Killebrew's services still hadn't been finalized. "The franchise will pay tribute to Harmon in a variety of ways," St. Peter said. "Hopefully by playing better baseball. That would be the first thing. I know when I spent time with Harmon the other night the one thing he wanted to talk about was our team. 'What's going on with our team, Dave?' He was always thinking about others. He was worried about Gardy (manager Ron Gardenhire)." The Twins will wear a No. 3 patch on its uniform starting Wednesday night in Seattle. When the club returns home next week, there will be a No. 3 stenciled in behind second base - work on that was being done Tuesday - and Killebrew's autograph will adorn the outfield wall at Target Field. Killebrew always went out of his way to make his signature as perfect as possible. A No. 3 flag also will fly immediately adjacent to the Twins Territory flag just on the other side of Target Plaza. A public memorial service also will take place at Target Field next week, most likely on Thursday. That is an off day for the club.