Grassfires spread in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Spreading wildfires in Oklahoma prompted the governor Sunday to ask the White House to declare the state a disaster area.
Firefighters from surrounding states were being dispatched to Oklahoma to help embattled crews, and Gov. Brad Henry said state and local officials were moving now to get resources to front lines without waiting to receive federal money.
"We have wildfires that are raging all across the state," said Henry on CNN, "not just in Oklahoma City but in every county in the state."
Henry blamed most of the fires on "human carelessness," and urged Oklahomans to use extreme caution and common sense in handling fire and flammable materials. He said the combination of high temperatures, low humidity and high winds made for "literally perfect" conditions for fires in his state.
"We are literally at the mercy of the weather," said Henry. "We're going to be fighting these fires for days on end."
Henry said late Sunday he had not spoken directly with President George W. Bush, but he did talk with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.
"He promised me that they were going to move as quickly as they could to make an emergency disaster declaration," said Henry.
Weather forecasts also worried officials in Texas as they assess damage from grassfires and prepare for more fires to come.
Like Oklahoma, Texas is under a state of emergency. Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked Bush to declare a disaster, after more than 220 homes were destroyed.
CDC says U.S. not yet ready for bird flu
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- A top U.S. health official says the nation has much to do to prepare for the possible spread of bird flu.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday the United States needs to take the threat of a pandemic seriously and solve some of the problems that stand in the way of an effective response.
"We've had three in the last 100 years involving influenza, and there's certainly every reason to suspect that it will happen again," she said.
Gerberding said the United States has made progress in preparing for the possibility that the H5N1 influenza in Asia and Eastern Europe will become transmissible from one person to another. But she warned of "bottlenecks" in the healthcare system that need to be corrected.
"One of them is the vaccine production and modernization, and the other is the drug treatment and the capacity of our health system to absorb a tremendous increase in the requirements for care," she said.
Schumer calls for look at leak motive
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., says the Justice Department should focus on the motivate behind leaked information about secret wiretapping.
The Justice Department announced Friday it was looking into who leaked information about the National Security Agency's controversial domestic spying operation.
"There are differences between felons and whistleblowers, and we ought to wait until the investigation occurs to decide what happened," Schumer -- a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- told "Fox News Sunday.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the same program he welcomes the investigation.
"Thank goodness the department is investigating who is leaking this information that could threaten our safety," McConnell said.
Schumer said Democrats and Republicans agree that the president needs tools to fight terrorism, but the balance between security and liberty must be respected.
"When you want to shift that balance, you have an open debate, you have some rules that are set, and then you have an independent arbiter look at those rules," said Schumer. "Instead of coming to people and saying, 'Okay, I need changes in the law,' he just changed it on his own."
Bush defends domestic spy program
SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush. during a visit to injured troops, defended a secret, warrantless spying program as new details emerged about it.
Bush authorized the eavesdropping of U.S. citizens and visitors in 2002, and the policy was then carried out by the National Security Agency.
Bush said Sunday at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, it was important "to find out what the enemy's thinking."
Former deputy attorney general James B. Comey refused to sign onto the program in March 2004, prompting administration officials to visit then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in the hospital to get his approval.
Comey's reluctance caused the program to be halted temporarily.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he will conduct hearings on the program when the new session of congress begins.
