Nation & World Digest

Obama, Sarkozy seek Iran sanctions

WASHINGTON

With the president of France at his side, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday he hopes to have international sanctions against Iran in place “within weeks,” not months, because of its continuing nuclear program. But he acknowledged he still lacks full support at the United Nations.

Obama said he and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are “inseparable” in their thinking on the subject.

Rain pounds Northeast states

CRANSTON, R.I.

A record-shattering rainstorm hammered the Northeast on Tuesday, delivering widespread flooding for the second time this month and unleashing particular havoc in Rhode Island, a tiny coastal state already beleaguered by a sagging economy and backbreaking unemployment rate.

National Guard troops were activated in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Scattered home evacuations were reported in those states, as well, and residents in flood-prone areas of New Hampshire were put on alert that they may have to leave. No deaths were reported in those states as of Tuesday evening.

Vatican prepares legal defense

VATICAN CITY

Dragged deeper than ever into the clerical sex-abuse scandal, the Vatican is launching a legal defense that the church hopes will shield the pope from a lawsuit in Kentucky seeking to have him deposed.

Court documents obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press show that Vatican lawyers plan to argue that the pope has immunity as head of state, that American bishops who oversaw abusive priests weren’t employees of the Vatican, and that a 1962 document is not the “smoking gun” that provides proof of a cover-up.

Math teacher who inspired film dies

LOS ANGELES

The math teacher at a tough East Los Angeles high school who inspired the movie “Stand and Deliver,” has died. He was 79.

Family friend Keith Miller says Jaime Escalante died Tuesday in Reno, Nev., where he was undergoing treatment for bladder cancer.

An immigrant from Bolivia, he transformed Garfield High School by motivating struggling students to tackle and excel at advanced math and science.

The actor Edward James Olmos played Escalante in the film based on his story.

Probe: Seafood buyers pay for ice

CHICAGO

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it is reviewing the results of a multistate investigation that found that shoppers have been paying for large amounts of ice that are not supposed to be included in the price of frozen seafood.

The investigation — conducted by weights and measures inspectors in 17 states — found that a coating of ice applied to frozen seafood to preserve quality during storage and distribution was often wrongly included as part of the labeled weight of seafood. In some instances, the investigation found, ice accounted for up to 40 percent of the product’s weight.

US weighs sending drones to Somalia

WASHINGTON

The Pentagon is considering dispatching surveillance drones and other limited military support for a Somali government offensive against al-Qaida-linked insurgents, U.S. officials said, part of a cautious move to increase U.S. assistance to the anarchic African nation.

U.S. diplomats are pressing Somali leaders to detail the goals of the looming assault, in order to figure out the most appropriate ways the U.S. can help.

Combined dispatches