State & Nation briefs

Paulison tapped to replace Brown as FEMA director

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown resigned Monday, three days after losing his on-site command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The White House picked a top FEMA official with three decades of firefighting experience as his replacement.

R. David Paulison, head of FEMA's emergency-preparedness force, will lead the beleaguered agency, according to three administration sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.

Paulison will lead an agency that has been under fire for its response to the Katrina disaster. Local officials and members of Congress have cited confusion and a lagging response to the Gulf Coast devastation.

In an interview Monday with The Associated Press, Brown said he resigned "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president." He said he feared he had become a distraction.

 

More corpses discovered in New Orleans, death toll rises

NEW ORLEANS - The bodies of 45 patients have been found at a flooded-out hospital, a state health official said Monday amid otherwise encouraging signs large and small that New Orleans is climbing back two weeks after it was slammed by Hurricane Katrina.

The bodies were found Sunday at 317-bed Memorial Medical Center, which was abandoned more than a week ago after it was surrounded by floodwaters, said Bob Johannesen, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Hospitals.

The Louisiana death toll rose to 279, up from 197 Sunday, he said.

Meanwhile, more than half of southeastern Louisiana's water treatment plants were up and running again Monday, and business owners were issued passes into the city to retrieve vital records or equipment as New Orleans continued to stir back to life.

Though 50 percent of the city remained flooded - down from 80 percent during the darkest days - and teams continued to collect hundreds, perhaps thousands, of corpses, there were clear signs of recovery: Over the weekend, trash collection resumed, and the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport reopened for cargo traffic. It planned to open to limited passenger service starting today.

 

Correction: The ASG has not actually signed a contract, and cannot legally sign a contract, for the new space. The State property office must sign any lease, and it has not yet reviewed the association's proposal for the new office space. So, basically, the move is still a prospect, not a definite event.

ASG's move to new facilities to increase funds for projects

The UNC Association of Student Governments has approved a plan to move its offices deeper into downtown Raleigh.

The organization signed a three-year contract for space on West Hargett Street, and association president Zach Wynne said he hopes to have the move completed by mid- to late-October.

"They're cheaper facilities, cleaner facilities, and closer-to-the-legislature facilities," he said. "I'm really excited."

Wynne said the new office is four blocks from the N.C. General Assembly, highlighting the ASG's focus on legislative lobbying efforts.

Under the terms of the new lease agreement, the group will be paying about $5,000 less per year, Wynne said, freeing up money for other projects.

 

Blackout hits Los Angeles area, causing traffic jams

LOS ANGELES - Utility workers connected the wrong wires and caused a blackout across major portions of Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, trapping people in elevators and snarling traffic at intersections, authorities said.

About 2 million people were affected by the resulting power surge and outages, which were reported from downtown west to the Pacific Coast and north into the San Fernando Valley.

Much of the power, which failed at about 12:30 p.m., was restored within about 2 1/2 hours; all power was expected to be restored by 5 p.m.