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Crowds Opposed to Iraq War March on D.C.
Opponents of the war in Iraq marched by the tens of thousands Saturday in a clamorous day of protest, song and remembrance of the dead, some showing surprisingly diverse political views even as they spoke with one loud voice in wanting U.S. troops home. The surging crowd, shouting "Bush out now" and "Peace now," marched in front of the White House and then toward the Washington Monument in an 11-hour marathon of dissent.
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Rita sets back New Orleans' efforts to recover from Katrina
As the threat of widespread flooding subsided on Saturday, relief mixed with new frustrations as some neighborhoods left relatively unscathed by Hurricane Katrina couldn't escape Rita. Much of the levee system that had failed during Katrina - and again Friday as Rita approached - appeared to hold fast. But Rita flooded enough of the city and surrounding parishes that some key components of recovery, including providing water clean enough to drink, suffered setbacks.
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FEMA Budget So Complex It Defies Consensus
If analysts agree on anything when it comes to the federal agency responsible for handling disasters, it's that it lacks the money to prepare for calamities that are not literally on the horizon. Much else about the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency defies consensus - or even comprehension.
Unlike most parts of the government, FEMA is different at different times - small in size and budget when nothing much is going on, swelling to huge and expensive when a disaster strikes.
That lets FEMA spend money when it also has plenty of political capital to cash in, because Americans want the government to do all it can when they see people hurting from hurricanes, floods or other disasters.
But FEMA's heavy dependence on emergencies to get the money coming in leaves it struggling to do a thorough job on preparation.
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Wolfowitz sets new course for World Bank
Paul Wolfowitz, in his first policy speech to member countries as World Bank president, called for tangible results from bank programs to fight poverty, setting a new course for an institution its critics say has lost its way.
Opponents of the war in Iraq marched by the tens of thousands Saturday in a clamorous day of protest, song and remembrance of the dead, some showing surprisingly diverse political views even as they spoke with one loud voice in wanting U.S. troops home. The surging crowd, shouting "Bush out now" and "Peace now," marched in front of the White House and then toward the Washington Monument in an 11-hour marathon of dissent.
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Rita sets back New Orleans' efforts to recover from Katrina
As the threat of widespread flooding subsided on Saturday, relief mixed with new frustrations as some neighborhoods left relatively unscathed by Hurricane Katrina couldn't escape Rita. Much of the levee system that had failed during Katrina - and again Friday as Rita approached - appeared to hold fast. But Rita flooded enough of the city and surrounding parishes that some key components of recovery, including providing water clean enough to drink, suffered setbacks.
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FEMA Budget So Complex It Defies Consensus
If analysts agree on anything when it comes to the federal agency responsible for handling disasters, it's that it lacks the money to prepare for calamities that are not literally on the horizon. Much else about the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency defies consensus - or even comprehension.
Unlike most parts of the government, FEMA is different at different times - small in size and budget when nothing much is going on, swelling to huge and expensive when a disaster strikes.
That lets FEMA spend money when it also has plenty of political capital to cash in, because Americans want the government to do all it can when they see people hurting from hurricanes, floods or other disasters.
But FEMA's heavy dependence on emergencies to get the money coming in leaves it struggling to do a thorough job on preparation.
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Wolfowitz sets new course for World Bank
Paul Wolfowitz, in his first policy speech to member countries as World Bank president, called for tangible results from bank programs to fight poverty, setting a new course for an institution its critics say has lost its way.