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Tropical storm Omar gathering strength

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A rapidly strengthening tropical storm Omar drenched islands in the southeastern Caribbean on Tuesday, downing trees and blowing off part of a school's roof as it menaced U.S. islands.

Officials in Puerto Rico, already soaked from several days of rain, warned residents to prepare for more and issued a hurricane watch for the U.S. Caribbean territory. Medical authorities appealed for blood donations for possible casualties.

Forecasters said Omar was strengthening rapidly and had maximum sustained winds of 110 km/h by Tuesday afternoon. It could become a hurricane later today or on Wednesday.

Omar's expected path could take it over Puerto Rico overnight Wednesday, or it could drift further east over the nearby U.S. and British Virgin Islands. The governments of Netherland Antilles and Antigua and Barbuda issued hurricane watches.

NASA has plan to fix Hubble Telescope

WASHINGTON - NASA engineers say they've figured out a long-distance fix to a major glitch on the Hubble Space Telescope.

The telescope hasn't been able to capture and beam down photos for more than two weeks because of a computer problem.

But now, NASA engineers are outlining their plans for a complicated remote control fix.

They plan to wake up computer components that have been dormant in space for more than 18 years.

That should allow Hubble to send star pictures back to Earth by Friday morning.

The computer failure forced NASA to postpone a shuttle mission to upgrade Hubble until early next year.

Violence in Tijuana leaves 8 people dead

TIJUANA, Mexico - Eight people are dead in a string of overnight attacks in the Mexican border city of Tijuana.

The state prosecutor's office says three teenagers - one of them a 14-year-old girl - were gunned down in the street.

A few blocks away, officials found more than 40 shell casings and the bullet-riddled body of a man.

In another part of the city, gunmen opened fire on a car, killing two men.

Assailants attacked another car before dawn Tuesday, injuring a police officer and killing his relative. A few hours later, the body of a man was found near city hall, his head covered with a plastic bag.

Tijuana has suffered a rising wave of homicides.

17-year-old killed by Israeli troops

JERUSALEM - Army troops killed a 17-year-old Palestinian Tuesday, as he prepared to lob a blazing firebomb, the Israeli military said.

The military said in a statement that an army squad had set up an ambush following attacks in and around the Jewish settlement of Beit El.

The squad opened fire on three Palestinians carrying firebombs, hitting one of them.

The military said that after the shooting, soldiers found another 10 fire bombs at the scene, ready to be ignited.

Palestinian hospital officials identified the slain Palestinian as Abdel Kader Zeit, a resident of the Jalazoun refugee camp near Beit El.

Sources: The Canadian Press, The Associated Press