Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Only 4 Cubans Picked Up at Sea

U.S. Coast Guard troops had seen only four Cuban refugees in the Florida Straits by midafternoon Wednesday, one day after the Cuban government began to crack down on departures by sea. A spokesman in Miami for the Coast Guard said 144 Cubans were picked up amid high winds and waves on Tuesday, after the Cuban government, which reached an immigration accord with the United States, began to stop homemade rafts, inner tubes and flimsy boats from leaving the island. Cuban beaches were reported clear of the rafters. Despite the drop in rescues, the Coast Guard has no plans to recall the dozens of vessels that have been searching for refugees over the past month, the spokesman said. Coast Guard cutters and U.S. Navy ships have intercepted 37,046 Cuban refugees so far this year.