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Katrina recovery chief wants unity

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- President Bush flew to New Orleans Sunday for his third visit to the areas on the Gulf Coast ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

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The president planned to spend the night on the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship anchored at New Orleans to serve as a command and control center. On Monday, he is scheduled to meet officials working on the scene and tour parts of New Orleans and Mississippi before returning to Washington, CNN reported.

The president was greeted on arrival by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

On "Meet The Press" Sunday morning, Nagin ducked a chance to criticize the president's response to Katrina, saying that after every face-to-face meeting Bush "acted and made things happen."

"I think the president, for some reason, probably did not understand the full magnitude of this catastrophe on the front end," said Nagin. "I think he was probably getting advice from some of his key advisers or some low-level folk that had been on the ground that this was serious, but not as serious as it ended up being."

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The flood waters were slowly receding Sunday in New Orleans as pumps came back on line. But Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, who now heads the federal effort in the area, said some houses in nearby St. Bernard Parish are still flooded "to the eaves."


Signs of economic life stir in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A few people are getting back to business in New Orleans.

While the vast majority of businesses are locked tight, there are snippets of economic activity, the New York Times reported.

The Drury Inn welcomed its first post-hurricane guests on Friday night, although the exercise room was closed and there was no continental breakfast.

Elsewhere in the city, a tow-truck driver was collecting cars taken from a dealership during the chaos and electrical work was being done on the city's largest office building.

A man patched tires for $12 in the Bywater neighborhood, while a bartender opened $3 bottles of beer in the French Quarter.

The thousands of emergency personnel, journalists, contractors and cleanup crews in a makeshift encampment along Canal Street need a place to sleep and are likely getting tired of "meals ready to eat," the newspaper said.

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Dickie Brennan, who owns four downtown restaurants, brought in a crew Friday to begin cleaning out the walk-in freezers of his Palace Café.

"The one thing we can do in New Orleans, if they are coming down here, is feed them some good food," said Brennan.


Katrina exposes oil industry problems

NEW YORK, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Analysts say Hurricane Katrina has exposed long simmering problems with the capacity of the nation's oil refineries.

Katrina shut down nearly all the Gulf Coast's offshore oil and gas production for over a week and only 60 percent has been restored, the New York Times reported.

The last American refinery was built nearly 30 years ago and there is only one new one in the works.

"There is now a greater realization that we don't have much extra capacity," said Edward H. Murphy, a refining specialist at the American Petroleum Institute.

This year, the refining margin -- the difference between the cost of buying crude oil and selling refined end products -- has exceeded $20 a barrel, far above the long-term average of $6, the newspaper said.

Industry critics allege oil companies have intentionally limited refining capacity to improve the bottom line.

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"They are supposed to compete and bring the lowest price to consumers," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "But the truth is that a small number of oil companies cheat by working together by artificially reducing supplies."


Mechanics, Northwest break off talks

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Talks between striking mechanics and Northwest Airlines ended Sunday when union negotiators walked away from the bargaining table.

Jeff Mathews, contract coordinator for the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, said union negotiators agreed to slash more than two-thirds of the AMFA's workforce but ended negotiations early Sunday because they were unable to reach a deal with the airline on severance payments.

The union wanted 20 weeks of severance payments for its members, and Northwest offered 16 weeks, he said in a report to members posted Sunday afternoon on the union's Web site.

"All we asked for in return was job protection for the 1,080 positions and a severance package that you might find acceptable," Mathews said.

Northwest employs 4,099 AMFA mechanics, cleaners and custodians. They went on strike on Aug. 19, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

Northwest plans to start hiring replacement workers this week.

Mathews urged union members to ignore management efforts to persuade them to cross picket lines and return to work.

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Airline merger close to complete

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Industry analysts say US Airways will likely receive approval this week to move forward with its planned merger with America West Airlines.

The deal would create the nation's largest budget airline.

Shareholders of America West Holdings Co. are expected to vote Tuesday on the planned merger at a meeting at the company's Tempe, Ariz., headquarters.

On Thursday, a bankruptcy court judge in Virginia is expected to hear final comments on US Airways' reorganization plan. The airline has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since 2004.

If the merger receives approval from America West shareholders and the bankruptcy court, as industry insiders expect, all that would remain is for the two airlines to finish the paperwork on the deal, the Washington Post reported.

J. Scott Kirby, America West's executive vice president of sales and marketing, told the newspaper the merged airline's first day of operation could come as early as Sept. 27.

The new airline would operate under the name US Airways and be led mostly by America West executives, including president and chief executive W. Douglas Parker.

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