USA

The CIA released 693 pages of documents Tuesday about spying on Americans, but vast sections were blocked out by agency censors. As a result, they were far less revealing than the reports issued in the mid-1970s by three investigations, which were given unedited versions of these documents at that time.

In early 1975, CIA Director William Colby told the Justice Department that these documents detailed assassination plots against foreign leaders such as Fidel Castro and break-ins at the homes of ex-CIA employees and others.

By a unanimous legislative vote Tuesday, Louisiana became the first state to approve a ban on late-term abortions since the US Supreme Court upheld a federal ban earlier this year. Only if failure to perform the procedure endangers the mother's life is it permissible. The measure now goes to Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D).

The furniture store loading dock that collapsed during a Charleston, S.C., fire June 18, which killed nine firefighters, was built without a permit, a city official said Tuesday.

The US and Poland are moving quickly toward a missile-defense deal despite objections from Russia, Poland's top negotiator said Tuesday. The plan, which could be completed by September, would allow the installation of 10 interceptors in Poland.

Steven Griles, the No. 2 Interior Department official between 2001 and 2005, was sentenced to 10 months in prison Tuesday for lying to Congress during its investigation of the bribery scandal centered on lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

For the second straight day, rescuers aided stranded motorists in Texas, where more than a foot of rain pounded the hill country northwest of Austin Wednesday. Storm waters have also soaked Oklahoma City, where it has rained daily for two weeks.