Bush promises to fix Katrina-exposed flaws
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush promised to correct flaws uncovered by the problems all levels of government faced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katina.
Bush, in his Saturday radio address, admitted that federal, state and local governments were unprepared for "such an extraordinary disaster," but promised changes on the federal level.
Tuesday marks the first anniversary since Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast, killing some 1,800 people and causing $80 billion in damage. Bush and many other politicians will head to the region to mark the anniversary.
Bush said reforms have been made in the U.S. government's disaster preparedness programs and Congress has committed $110 billion to the Katrina recovery effort.
"The federal government will continue to do its part -- yet a reborn Gulf Coast must reflect the needs, the vision and the aspirations of the people of Mississippi and Louisiana," Bush said. "And their state and local officials have a responsibility to help set priorities and make tough decisions, so people can plan their futures with confidence."
Landrieu wants commitment to preparedness
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., has called for a new commitment by the United States to improve emergency preparedness.
With the anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina coming next week, Landrieu, whose state was one of the most severely damaged in the storm, delivered the Democrats' Saturday radio address. Some 1,800 people died and Katrina caused more than $80 billion in damage.
The region is far from recovered and Landrieu charged the country is no better prepared for "major disasters, whether they be hurricanes, earthquakes or terrorist attacks" than it was last August.
"For too long, nationwide infrastructure has been ignored," the senator said. "Citizens may be surprised to know that as a percentage of the (gross domestic product), the federal government today spends less than 1/10th as much on civil works as it did 70 years ago."
Landrieu said there needs to be a major reinvestment in infrastructure, including levees, flood control and evacuation routes.
"It's time for our leaders to wake up, and make a serious, new commitment to national preparedness," Landrieu said.
Coalition forces kill Taliban leader
KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Coalition forces in Afghanistan killed a Taliban leader in a firefight in the central province of Uruzgan, the U.S. military said Saturday.
Fifteen insurgents were killed alongside the Taliban commander, who coalition force did not name in a statement announcing the gun battle.
The assault on the Taliban safe house, where the fighting took place, was accompanied by an airstrike, the statement said.
Obama takes HIV test in Kenya
KISUMU, Kenya, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., took an HIV test before thousands of onlookers in Kenya Saturday, then visited his grandmother's village.
Many Obama T-shirts were spotted among the crowd gathered to watch Obama and his wife, Michelle, enter the New Nyanza General Hospital in Kisumu and be tested for AIDS on the second day of the senator's trip "home," the Kenya Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Following the test, which showed Obama and his wife were HIV negative, he urged Kenyans "to gather courage and make the right decision" to be tested.
The Illinois Democrat and his convoy slowly made their way to the village of Nyangoma-Kogelo, about 60 miles from Kisumu, where his paternal grandmother lives.
Obama spent time with his grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama, and toured a school that was renamed in his honor, the official state-run radio said.
Obama was born in Hawaii. His father is Kenyan and his mother is a white native of Kansas.
