• Magnitude-8.2 earthquake hits off northern Chilean coast

SANTIAGO, Chile - A powerful magnitude-8.2 earthquake struck off Chile's northern coast Tuesday night, causing landslides that blocked roads and setting off a small tsunami that forced an evacuation of coastal areas, but the region apparently escaped major damage and casualties.

In the city of Arica, 86 miles from the quake's epicenter, minor injuries were reported and some homes made of adobe were destroyed, officials said. The quake shook modern buildings in nearby Peru and in Bolivia's high altitude capital of La Paz.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the quake at 8.0, but later upgraded the magnitude. It said the quake struck 61 miles northwest of the Chilean city of Iquique at 8:46 p.m., hitting a region that has been rocked by numerous quakes over the past two weeks.

• NATO ministers order plan to reinforce security

BRUSSELS - NATO foreign ministers moved Tuesday to beef up the defenses of front-line alliance members feeling menaced by a more assertive Russia, with Secretary of State John Kerry proclaiming the U.S. commitment to their security is "unwavering."

The ministers from NATO's 28 member nations also ordered suspension of all "practical civilian and military cooperation" with Vladimir Putin's Russia, though they made sure a line of communication with the Kremlin remains open at the ambassadorial level.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, keystone of U.S. and European security since the end of World War II, is facing its most acute geopolitical crisis in years: the fallout from Moscow's unilateral annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which the Obama administration and its allies condemn as a brazen, illegal land grab.

On Tuesday, an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 Russian troops equipped with tanks, other armored vehicles and fixed and rotary wing aircraft remained positioned near the border with Ukraine, a NATO military official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.

• DC mayor faces voters amid investigation

WASHINGTON - The embattled mayor of the nation's capital sought a second term Tuesday, with many voters weighing praise for his performance in office against a federal investigation of his 2010 campaign that has cloaked the incumbent in scandal.

Early returns showed Mayor Vincent Gray trailing his top challenger, D.C. Councilmember Muriel Bowser, who argued that the city needs a fresh start as the mayor faces possible criminal charges.

With 38 percent of precincts reporting, Bowser had 44 percent of the vote to Gray's 34 percent, according to the D.C. Board of Elections. Six other candidates split up the rest of the vote.

Gray defeated Adrian Fenty in 2010 by tapping into dissatisfaction among African-American residents. But a series of guilty pleas in federal court have revealed that top aides to the mayor broke the law to help him get elected. Three weeks ago, prosecutors said Gray knew about an illegal, $668,000 slush fund that aided his get-out-the-vote efforts.

Gray has not been charged and insists he did nothing wrong. His attorney has said he is preparing for a possible indictment.

• U.S. considers freeing Pollard to keep Mideast peace talks alive

WASHINGTON - Every president since Ronald Reagan has refused to release Jonathan Pollard from prison. A CIA director once threatened to resign when Bill Clinton briefly considered freeing the convicted spy as part of Mideast peace talks. But now, in a gamble to extend negotiations that appear on the brink of collapse, the Obama administration is bringing the U.S. closer than it has been in years to granting Pollard an early release.

If Pollard's freedom leads eventually to a final peace settlement, it could mark a major victory for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has toiled to achieve an agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians after decades of distrust and violence. But if Pollard is freed and the talks fail, it could be a costly embarrassment.

Releasing Pollard now, just to keep Israeli-Palestinian negotiations going, "portrays a weakness on our part and a certain amount of desperation," says Aaron Miller, who was part of the U.S. negotiating team at two rounds of peace talks during the Clinton administration. "It guarantees almost nothing."

• Palestinians resume bid for further U.N. recognition

RAMALLAH, West Bank - In a surprise move that could derail U.S. peace efforts, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday resumed a campaign for further international recognition of a state of Palestine, despite a previous promise to suspend such efforts during nine months of negotiations with Israel.

Shortly after Abbas' announcement, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry canceled plans to return to the Middle East on Wednesday, but also said it's "completely premature" to write off the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks he restarted in late July.

- The Associated Press