USA
Ten months after hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says much of the rubble from damaged homes and businesses cannot be cleared away without getting approval from property owners and insurers. The controversy comes as FEMA considers whether to continue paying the full cost of removing debris in the hurricane-affected area – a program expected to end on Friday. Without the extra aid, Washinton would pay up to 90 percent of debris removal costs and local governments would pick up the remaining 10 percent.
A deluge of rain that caused flooding in several Northeastern states led to the death of at least one person, authorities said. Forecasters predicted more rain across the region this week as rescuers evacuated more than 2,000 people from their homes in Maryland and workers pumped water from the IRS headquarters in Washington. States of emergency were declared for Sussex County, Del., and the District of Columbia.
Critics in the House are taking aim at President Bush's plan to spend $700 million next year to send astronauts back to to the moon and eventually to Mars. Opponents of the mission say it's too expensive and that unmanned space travel produces better science per dollar spent.
Cars built by the Big Three automakers emitted 230 million metric tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in 2004, more than the biggest US electric utility. General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler cars and light trucks emitted nearly three-fourths of all carbon dioxide from vehicles on US roads, according to the watchdog group Environmental Defense.
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against two foreign suspects who argued an international treaty required police to inform them that they had a right to contact their governments after their arrest. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the two men – one from Honduras, the other from Mexico – are not entitled to suppression of statements to police or another chances to raise objections. The cases are Bustillo v. Johnson , and Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon.