Bush promises aid to New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush attended a memorial service in New Orleans on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making its Gulf Coast landfall.
Speaking at a high school after the service, Bush promised that the federal government would help the city rebuild.
"Some of you still do not know whether you have a neighborhood to come back to," he said. "Others of you who have made the decision to return are living in trailers. Many are separated from their loved ones, and simply long to go to church on a Sunday afternoon with somebody you care about."
Bush spent Monday night in the city after visiting Biloxi, Miss. He had breakfast Tuesday with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin in Betsy's Pancake House.
The Bush administration was seen as reacting slowly to the storm and continues to receive criticism for a lack of planning and emergency preparedness.
Ernesto has Florida residents scrambling
MIAMI, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- People throughout Florida scrambled Tuesday to prepare for the arrival of Tropical Storm Ernesto.
By midday, rain bands from Ernesto were lashing the Florida Keys, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez was asking for a voluntary evacuation of residents of homes previously damaged in other storms.
Many houses with tell-tale bright blue tarpaulins still have not had roofs repaired from Hurricane Wilma last October, WPLG-TV, Miami, reported.
"If your home currently has a blue tarp, it is not safe," Alvarez said.
The Miami Herald said many filling stations had no gas left to sell after a rush on Monday, although the Port of Miami-Dade had a 10-day supply of fuel and can reopen as soon as the storm passes.
Even politics were affected by Ernesto's approach from the south. The Tallahassee Democrat reported Democratic candidate for governor Jim Davis announced he was suspending campaign commercials in South Florida to "stand together as citizens of Florida until the storm passes."
State political primaries are scheduled next Tuesday.
U.S. attorney general visits Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who has been in the news over treatment of Iraqi prisoners, visited Baghdad Tuesday to meet Iraq's leaders.
Gonzales' agenda included meetings with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh and the Iraqi High Tribunal trying deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and six others on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, reports the BBC.
The highest-ranking U.S. law enforcement official also was to meet U.S. Justice Department officials working in strife-torn Iraq.
Gonzales is regarded as one of the architects on the treatment of detainees in the "war on terror."
"Freedom is best sustained by the establishment of a fair and just legal system that prioritizes the rights and liberties of its citizens," Gonzales said in a statement. "The Department of Justice is proud to help the Iraqi people establish the rule of law in their country, and I applaud the Department of Justice employees who are so dedicated to assisting in this historic effort."
Rumsfeld wants terror war 'perspective'
SALT LAKE CITY. Utah, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday critics of the Iraq war are trying to divide the country instead of battling "a new kind of fascism."
In a speech at the American Legion's national convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, Rumsfeld said the country's enemies are "vicious extremists" who are "serious, lethal and relentless," the Deseret News reported.
"We are facing a new type of fascism in the world, a new type of enemy," Rumsfeld said.
The secretary said that the news media are providing a misleading picture of the situation in Iraq.
The speech was Rumsfeld's second in two days to a veterans group. On Monday, he made a similar speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nev., where he acknowledged that the Bush administration has made mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan. He warned against a "Blame America First" mentality.
Ahmadinejad invites Bush to TV debate
TEHRAN, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Iran President President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has invited U.S. President George Bush to a TV debate on world issues, reports the Islamic Republic News Agency.
"I offer Mr. Bush to take part in a TV debate with me without any censorship so that we put forward our views on ways to come out of the current international crises," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. "We have proposals for resolving the international crises on the basis of justice, dignity and equality of human being."
The BBC reported the White House called the invitation a "diversion" from global concerns over Iran's nuclear program.
The report said the Iranian leader insisted Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and that a TV debate would let both sides air their views.
Report: U.S. poverty getting worse
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Median U.S. household income rose modestly in 2005, while the poverty rate remained unchanged, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said Tuesday.
For the first time, median income was lower in the fourth year of an economic recovery -- and poverty was higher -- than when the last recession hit bottom and the recovery began, the center said.
Median income remained $243 below its level in the recession year of 2001, while the poverty rate at 12.6 percent, remained well above its 11.7 percent rate in 2001.
In addition, both the number and the percentage of U.S. residents who lack health insurance climbed again and remained much higher than in 2001.
"Four years into an economic recovery, the country has yet to make progress in reducing poverty, raising the typical family's income, or stemming the rise in the ranks of the uninsured, compared to where we were in the last recession," Center Executive Director Robert Greenstein said.
He also said 4 million more people were poor and 5.4 million more were uninsured than in 2001. The percentage of children who are uninsured rose in 2005 for the first time since 1998.
