HOUSTON - Initial inspections of the Gulf Coast´s extensive energy complex confirmed Tuesday that Hurricane Gustav was nowhere near as destructive as Katrina and Rita three years ago, but resumption of production and refining may be a few days away, or more. Oil companies, rig and pipeline owners and refiners spread out across the region to look for damage from Monday´s storm, and some were already putting equipment and people back in place to resume operations. The full impact should be known in the next couple of days.

Last Thursday, Marci and Jamie Lujan planned to spend the evening with their children before flying out the next day for Cancun. Instead, Marci spent the night at her husband´s bedside at Scott & White Memorial Hospital, where he was fighting for his life after being shot multiple times at the place where he worked.

Don´t call them “band geeks,” they´ll just take it as a compliment. “I´m a band nerd, and I´m proud of it,” said Giselle Blanchard, 14, a freshman at Central Texas Christian School. “I don´t care what you call me. I can´t sing and I can´t dance, but I can play the trombone.”

Men are more likely to be devoted and loyal husbands when they lack a particular variant of a gene that influences brain activity, researchers announced Monday - the first time that science has shown a direct link between a man´s genes and his aptitude for monogamy. The finding is striking because it not only links the gene variant - which is present in two of every five men - with the risk of marital discord and divorce, but also appears to predict whether women involved with these men are likely to say their partners are emotionally close and available, or distant and disagreeable. The presence of the gene variant, or allele, also seems predictive of whether men get married or live with women without getting married.

Come mid-November, downtown Temple will be buzzing with building restoration and renovation professionals attending the annual Texas Downtown Revitalization conference. And thanks to some local entrepreneurs with a high tolerance for dust, mildew and dead critters - and a city employee promoting downtown Temple - these folks are in for a treat.

Prior to the volleyball season, Temple College coach Mary Reese said that for her Lady Leopards to have a decent chance at winning the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, they would have to enter it with only single-digit losses or no losses at all. TC lost its opportunity for no losses in its season opener last weekend, and now single-digit losses is in serious jeopardy.

BELTON - For the first month of the volleyball season, the Belton Lady Tigers have been working to hit their stride when district play begins. Nine days from their District 12-5A-opening clash with rival Temple, the Lady Tigers still aren´t where they´d like to be, but they´re getting close.

KILLEEN - The Temple Tem-Cats are on a roll. Jordan Pickett and Patty Kabobel had nine kills apiece, and Kacie Easley came up with 20 digs to help Temple put away Killeen 25-20, 25-16, 25-22 Tuesday night for the Tem-Cats´ ninth victory in their last 13 matches.

CHICAGO - Geoff Blum hit a two-run home run off Kerry Wood in the 11th inning to send the Houston Astros to their seventh straight victory, 9-7 over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. The first-place Cubs, who have lost four straight games, all at home, remained 4½ games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League´s Central Division.

His strokes awry, his emotions laid bare for all to see, Roger Federer figured out a way to stay in the U.S. Open. Federer found himself locked in a five-set struggle against the sort of player the world is accustomed to seeing him dismiss with ease, and it was only down the stretch that the four-time defending Open champion looked the part.

NEW YORK - They share a family and a sport. They have sponsors and coaches in common, too, along with a level of Grand Slam success unmatched by any other active player. Venus and Serena Williams don´t do everything as a team, though. When it came time Tuesday to prepare for their U.S. Open, the sisters lined up on adjacent courts, hitting beside, not with, each other.

NEW YORK - Chad Campbell lingered in the parking lot of a Dallas hospital Tuesday as his wife waited inside to get the latest report on their first child, due to be born later this week. He wanted a clear signal on his cell phone to hear the good news: Campbell is going to the Ryder Cup.