Kennedy remembered as statesman, friend
BOSTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Four U.S. presidents will be in attendance Saturday for the Boston funeral of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., officials said.
Kennedy, 77, who died Tuesday of brain cancer, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery after a mass in Boston.
President Barack Obama is planning to give a eulogy at the mass, where the guests are expected to include former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and the prime ministers of Ireland and Britain, CNN reported Saturday.
Friday night, 650 friends, family and colleagues gathered at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston for three hours of story-telling and remembrance, The Boston Globe reported Saturday.
Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., spoke of Kennedy's love of sailing and how the day after Kennedy's death was a perfect day for sailing off Massachusetts.
Kennedy is now sailing with all the Kennedys who died before him, Kerry said, choking up. "Sail on, my friend, sail on," Kerry said.
Kennedy will be buried Saturday evening near the graves of his brothers, Sen. Robert Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy.
'We must learn the lessons of Katrina'
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Four years after Hurricane Katrina pummeled America's Gulf Coast, President Barack Obama said Saturday the nation must better prepare for disasters.
In his weekly address, the president promised to visit New Orleans by year's end to monitor recovery and pledged to step up efforts to help that city and other areas still struggling to recover from the hurricane.
Obama recalled the images of people stranded on rooftops and living in squalor in a stadium in the disaster that killed more than 1,000 people, displaced more than 1 million and turned entire neighborhoods into ruins.
"Communities across the Gulf Coast were forever changed," Obama said. "And many Americans questioned whether government could fulfill its responsibility to respond in a crisis or contribute to a recovery that covered parts of four states."
Obama said his administration is better coordinating responses among federal agencies and state and local governments to speed recovery efforts. The administration, he said, has pushed to make available and distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in previously approved federal assistance to move forward stalled projects to build schools, fix roads and bridges and improve public health and safety.
Recovery efforts are bearing fruit in hurricane-ravaged areas: The first entirely new school has opened, homes are being rebuilt and many displaced residents are returning, Obama said.
"With every tragedy comes the chance of renewal," he said. "It is a quintessentially American notion -- that adversity can give birth to hope and that the lessons of the past hold the key to a better future.
"As we rebuild and recover, we must also learn the lessons of Katrina, so that our nation is more protected and resilient in the face of disaster."
The country must ready itself for a"broad range of dangers -- from wildfires and earthquakes to terrorist attacks and pandemic disease," he said, noting that his administration is working with state and local governments to prepare for an anticipated spread of the H1N1 virus.
Kidnap victim not always hidden in yard
ANTIOCH, Calif., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Jaycee Dugard worked for her alleged kidnapper's printing business and interacted with customers during 18 years in his California home, witnesses said Friday.
One customer, Ben Daughdrill, told The New York Times he went to Phillip Garrido's home to discuss a printing job. There, he was introduced to a young woman Garrido said was his daughter, Allissa.
Daughdrill realized Dugard's true identity only after seeing recent news stories.
Dugard, now 29, was abducted at age 11 near her home in El Dorado County. She revealed her identity Wednesday at a police station in the San Francisco Bay area.
Daughdrill said he talked to "Allissa" on the telephone and exchanged e-mails, never realizing she was not Garrido's daughter.
"She was the design person; she did the art work; she was the genius," he said.
Garrido allegedly housed Dugard and the two children she had by him in a compound in the back of his property, concealed by a fence. But she also apparently worked in his business and met other customers without revealing her identity.
Garrido, a convicted sex offender, and his wife, Nancy, were arraigned Friday on more than two dozen counts of kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment and other charges.
Forecasters warn of dangerous surf
MIAMI, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A 12-year-old boy went missing while body-boarding in Corolla, N.C., Friday as forecasters warned of dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast.
The boy's mother said she saw her son fall from his body-board about 10:45 a.m., and it later washed ashore, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Saturday. The Coast Guard ended its search for the boy just before 9 Friday night.
Red flags lined beaches to warn swimmers of the dangerous waters Friday, and some East Coast beaches closed.
At 3 a.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said a tropical storm watch would remain in effect for 12 hours for the North Carolina Coast from Cape Lookout north to Duck.
The center said large swells from Tropical Storm Danny were expected to produce "dangerous surf conditions and life-threatening rip currents along the U.S. East Coast during the next day or two."
The hurricane center urged people to closely monitor local forecasts.
AccuWeather.com said Danny would pass just east of the Outer Banks of North Carolina early Saturday, then head toward Cape Cod. The storm is expected to pack heavy rains and wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph.
Shuttle mission marks transition
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The shuttle Discovery's 37th mission marked the transition from assembling the International Space Station to using it for continuous research, NASA said.
Discovery, with seven astronauts aboard, launched from Cape Canaveral Friday at 11:59 p.m. EDT for a 13-day flight that includes installation of the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, a pressurized "moving van," NASA officials said Saturday.
The module contains storage racks for materials and fluids, a freezer, a sleeping compartment, an air purification system and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert.
The additional facilities will let crew members increase the time devoted to research in the station, designed as an orbiting laboratory.
"Thanks to everyone who helped prepare for this mission. Let's go step up the science on the International Space Station," shuttle Commander Rick Sturckow said shortly before liftoff.
