COLU @ CONCEPTS

HOUSTON (AP) — Floodwaters reached the rooflines of single-story homes Monday and people could be heard pleading for help from inside as Harvey poured rain on the Houston area for a fourth consecutive day after a chaotic weekend of rising water and rescues. The nation’s fourth-largest city remained mostly paralyzed by one of the largest downpours in U.S. history. And there was no relief in sight from the storm that spun into Texas as a Category 4 hurricane, then parked over the Gulf Coast. With nearly 2 more feet (61 centimeters) of rain expected on top of the 30-plus inches (76 centimeters) in some places, authorities worried that the worst might be yet to come. Harvey has been blamed for at least three confirmed deaths, including a woman killed Monday in the town of Porter, northeast of Houston, when a large oak tree dislodged by heavy rains toppled onto her trailer home. A Houston woman also said she presumes six members of a family, including four of her grandchildre...

NEW YORK (AP) — Most things have changed in George Clooney’s life since he and wife Amal welcomed twins in July. But as he prepares to unveil his latest directorial effort, “Suburbicon,” some rituals remain eerily familiar. “I just have to clean the barf off of my tux,” says Clooney. “It used to be my barf but now it’s the twins’ barf. So it all works out.” It’s a new chapter for Clooney, but one with some old moves. “Suburbicon,” which Paramount Pictures will release Oct. 27, marries two twin passions of his: farce (“Burn After Reading,” ″O Brother Where Art Thou”) and socially conscious filmmaking (“Good Night and Good Luck,” ″Ides of March”). But despite the comic trailers, it leans a little more to the latter. Clooney believes the film, which peers into the dark racial tensions of 1950s suburbia, is deeply relevant to Donald Trump’s America. It bristles, he hopes, with the spirit of Howard Beale, the truth-telling “Network” newsman who yelled, “I’m mad as hell and I’m no...

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year (all times local): ___ 2:04 a.m. Alexander Zverev worked deep into the night to get into the U.S. Open’s second round. The No. 4-seeded Zverev made it through a tight first set and eventually wrested control for a 7-6 (9), 7-5, 6-4 victory over 168th-ranked Darian King, the first player from Barbados to participate in the main draw at any Grand Slam tournament. The match finished a little past 2 a.m. on Tuesday; the record for latest U.S. Open finish is 2:26 a.m., which has happened three times. Zverev vs. King didn’t get started in Arthur Ashe Stadium until after 11 p.m. on Monday, because it followed Maria Sharapova’s three-set win against Simona Halep — which itself followed the opening-night ceremony. Zverev is a 20-year-old German considered the Next Big Thing in men’s tennis. He has won two Masters titles — the men’s tier right below the majors — this season, including by be...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Derrick Rose has some secrets. He often plays chess online against random people who have no idea that their king is being attacked by the 2011 NBA MVP. He was a decent tennis and baseball player in high school. He’s spent a good amount of time this summer studying the life of Albert Einstein. He watches documentaries. Most people don’t know these things. Rose doesn’t care if people know these things. Here’s what Rose hopes people know, or at least soon know: He believes he’s still among the NBA elite. So for Rose, this season alongside LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers is a reset, maybe a redemption, maybe even a reinvention. He made $21 million last season; he’ll make about $2 million this season  after signing for the minimum , even after averaging 18 points with the dysfunctional New York Knicks a year ago. Now — recovered from a fourth knee surgery — Rose is set to start anew and resume chasing what would be his first NBA title. “I’ve ...

HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on Tropical Storm Harvey (all times local): 2:03 a.m. One of the nation’s busiest trauma centers is clearing space for an influx of patients it expects will need care once Tropical Storm Harvey stops dumping rain on the Houston area. Harris Health System spokesman Bryan McLeod said early Tuesday that Ben Taub Hospital had moved a handful of patients to other facilities and received fresh linens and food. McLeod said the goal was to move about 60 of its 350 patients to make more room at the 440-bed hospital. Houston remained mostly paralyzed by rain more than four days after Harvey came ashore as a Category 4 storm and caused massive flooding. ___ 11:40 p.m. A spokeswoman for a Houston hotel says one of its employees disappeared while helping about 100 guests and workers evacuate the building. Omni Hotel spokeswoman Kristen Candenhead said in an email Monday night that a team has been searching every available area of the Omni Houston that ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some seek their distance, delicately taking issue with President Donald Trump’s most controversial remarks. Others decide it’s safer to stand by him. Most would rather say nothing at all. Under intense pressure, members of Trump’s Cabinet are struggling to walk the line between rebuking their notoriously thin-skinned boss and defending comments that struck even many loyal Republicans as offensive. Though the friction has been building for months, Trump’s polarizing response to white nationalism in Charlottesville was a catalyst, with fallout that has continued to dog his administration more than two weeks later. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was the latest administration member forced to take a position on Trump’s handling of Charlottesville, in which he described people at a neo-Nazi rally as “very fine people.” The unenviable list also includes Trump’s treasury secretary, chief of the National Economic Council and defense secretary. “They’re getting pr...

NEW YORK (AP) — When Maria Sharapova’s first Grand Slam match after a 15-month doping suspension ended with a victory at the U.S. Open, she dropped to her knees and covered her face, tears welling in her eyes. This was merely a win to get to the second round, yes, but it also clearly meant so much more to Sharapova. It meant she was back. Displaying as much emotion on court as she ever did after one of her five major championships, Sharapova recovered after faltering midway through the match and emerged to beat No. 2-seeded Simona Halep 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at the U.S. Open over more than 2½ hours Monday night. “Behind all these Swarovski crystals and little black dresses,” Sharapova told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, “this girl has a lot of grit, and she’s not going anywhere.” So much about Sharapova was the same as it ever was: the shot-punctuating shrieks, the aggressive baseline style, the terrific returning, the sometimes-shaky serving. Another familiar sight: She gutted ...