On Wednesday’s NewsHour…

HURRICANE SEASON AND OIL SPILL RESPONSE | High waves and gusting winds from Hurricane Alex hampered cleanup efforts in the Gulf, forcing oil-skimming ships back to shore. Jeffrey Brown talks with James Franklin, chief hurricane forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, and Ivor van Heerden, a senior scientist at oil spill response company Polaris Applied Sciences, about the ongoing oil capture efforts and the havoc that hurricane season may bring.

NEWSMAKER: AMBASSADOR RICHARD HOLBROOKE | Gwen Ifill speaks with Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, in a newsmaker interview about the firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan going forward.

DAY 3: KAGAN CONFIRMATION | Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings appeared to be winding down in their third day, as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy predicted she would be confirmed to the Supreme Court. Judy Woodruff gets an analysis from Marcia Coyle of the National Law Journal.

OIL SPILL DAMAGE AND SCIENCE | Correspondent Tom Bearden reports from Florida on scientists who are going deep underwater with sensor technology to explore the damage caused by BP’s gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

POETRY OF BENJAMIN SAENZ | Latino poet Benjamin Saenz shares from his writing about his home near the U.S.-Mexico border, a region where drug-related violence has raged in recent years. His latest collection is called “The Book of What Remains.”

Wednesday’s anchors are Jeffrey Brown and Gwen Ifill. Hari Sreenivasan will have the day’s other top news stories and a look at Web features, including more from poet Benjamin Saenz and the deep-sea scientists profiled in Tom Bearden’s piece.

Plus, read a liveblog from our partners at SCOTUSBlog, a look back at our coverage of the court over the years and an insider’s guide to the staffers behind the Senate Judiciary Committee.

And a reminder: send us your questions for Ray to pose to BP executive Bob Dudley on Thursday afternoon.

We hope you join us.