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Gustav made landfall in SE Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane, spawning numerous tornadoes from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana. Throughout the day, television reporters trained their cameras on New Orleans flood walls and levees, while officials at the Army Corps of Engineers said they believed the barriers would not be breached. Midday Monday, Mayor Ray Nagin confirmed that two 400 ft ships and a barge were loose in the churning waters of New Orleans Industrial Canal. Crude oil futures fell to their lowest prices in more than four months after Hurricane Gustav weakened, easing concern of widespread damage to...

Extremely dangerous Hurricane Gustav emerged into the Gulf of Mexico from the west coast of Cuba Saturday evening. The storm forecast predicts landfall as a major hurricane along the north-central Gulf of Mexico coast. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin described Hurricane Gustav as, "the mother of all storms," and ordered mandatory evacuation of the city, "You need to be concerned and you need to get your butts moving and out of New Orleans right now." New Orleans residents and tourists evacuated the city via trains, planes, and buses to destination shelters including Shreveport, LA and Chattanooga, TN. Contraflow vehicle evacuation...

Keith Weissman and Steven Rosen Are PhDs and Middle East Experts Who Did Some Lobbying. They Thought They Were Doing What Washington Insiders Always Do. Thomas O’Donnell didn’t reveal his job when he phoned Keith Weissman in 2004 and got the policy analyst’s wife. He says he didn’t want to scare her. When Weissman returned the call and found out O’Donnell was an FBI agent, his first reaction was to attempt a joke: “What did I do?” “I’m sure you didn’t do anything,” O’Donnell told him. He wanted to meet that day, for five or ten minutes, and get Weissman’s...

LOS ANGELES - Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95. Barbera died of natural causes at his home with his wife Sheila at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said. With his longtime partner, Bill Hanna, Barbera first found success creating the highly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons. The antics of the battling cat and mouse went on to win seven Academy Awards, more than any other series with the same characters. The...

Posted on Sun, Oct. 31, 2004 Bin Laden videotape sways some voters, but not others By Larry Eichel and Sandy Bauers Inquirer Staff Writers For Robert Blose, a retired steelworker who lives in Kutztown, seeing Osama bin Laden on TV yesterday was all it took to end his days as one of Pennsylvania's remaining undecided voters. "I'm going to vote for President Bush," said Blose, 61, "because I think he's the better person to protect us. I'm sure a lot of other people are going to feel the same way. It makes a difference." But in nearby Reading, another undecided...

<p>The former head of human resources for Caddo Parish has filed a formal complaint against Parish Administrator Bill Hanna, citing allegations of job discrimination, unprofessional behavior and on-the-job intoxication.</p> <p>Linda Rae Jordan, whose job was listed among employment opportunities in Sunday's Times, sent all 12 Caddo commissioners a copy of her formal complaint Feb. 11.</p>

Alabama coast braces for erratic Tropical Storm Hanna 09/14/02 By KIM LANIER and REBECCA CATALANELLO Staff Reporters Tropical Storm Hanna teeter-tottered through the northern Gulf of Mexico on Friday, but appeared poised to make landfall near the Alabama-Mississippi line this morning, forecasters reported. Upgraded Friday morning from a tropical depression, Hanna spent much of the day hovering in the Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds near 50 mph -- just strong enough and close enough to worry Friday night football fans and scare Saturday's brides-to-be. A tropical storm warning was in effect from Grand Isle, La., to Apalachicola, Fla. A...