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Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

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Nation Digest

Limbaugh detained at Florida airport

Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a prescription.

Customs officials found a prescription bottle labeled as Viagra in his luggage that didn't have Limbaugh's name on it, but that of two doctors, said Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

A doctor had prescribed the drug, but it was "labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes," said Roy Black, an attorney for the 55-year-old radio commentator. Investigators confiscated the drug, and Limbaugh was released without being charged.

Limbaugh reached a deal last month with prosecutors who had charged him with illegally deceiving multiple doctors to receive overlapping painkiller prescriptions. Under the deal, the charge, commonly referred to as "doctor shopping," would be dismissed after 18 months if he continues to submit to random drug tests and treatment for his acknowledged addiction to painkillers.

Reno, Nev.

Wildfires force closure of highway

More than a dozen lightning-caused wildfires burned across more than 50,000 acres of northern Nevada on Monday, closing Interstate 80 for a second day, forcing evacuations in some rural areas and even claiming most of the training grounds at a state fire academy.

Nevada officials ordered evacuations in two rural communities near Elko, and flames burned within a quarter mile of homes northwest of Reno, but no injuries were reported and no homes faced immediate threat.

In Arizona, a more than 31,000-acre wildfire north of Grand Canyon National Park jumped the only highway leading to the remote North Rim, closing the road and marooning hundreds of tourists and workers. With the fire burning national forest land about 30 miles from the park, officials said no one was in danger.

Port Hueneme, Calif.

Port closes to investigate ship

A Southern California port was closed for several hours Monday afternoon while authorities investigated a possible terrorist threat on a cargo ship.

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A dock worker at the Port of Hueneme in Ventura County discovered a threatening message written in the cargo hold of a ship carrying bananas from Guatemala, said Will Berg, the port's marketing director. Federal authorities said the message was scrawled in marker on a metal pillar in the ship and read: "Nitro + glycerin my gift for G. W. Bush and his Jewish gang."

No nitroglycerine or other explosives were found, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. About 20 people were evacuated from the 30,000-ton refrigerated vessel Wild Lotus, which arrived from the Port of Quetzal in Guatemala on Sunday evening, officials said.

Compiled from The Associated Press

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company

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