[kcvl]

Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans

That, IMO, means Friday, the 26th. I call what's happening now, rescue & recovery, not evacuation.

[Peach]

Good point.

[JacksonMS]

From here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1475914/posts

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin declared a state of emergency on Sunday (August 28th) and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city as Hurricane Katrina churned toward the city with maximum sustained winds of nearly 175 mph.

Could the WP source be referring to NO's declaration of a state of emergency? That would still put the story on an earlier timeline, but it would make more sense given the Friday state declaration.