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POLITICALLY MOTIVATED MAYOR WAITS TOO LATE TO DECLARE MANDATORY EVACUATIONS. THE FEDERAL GOVT NEEDS THE POWER TO OVERRIDE LOCAL POLITICS AND ORDER EVACUATIONS. The Mayor of New Orleans has blood on his hands. It took President Bush's pleas to finally influence the mayor to call for a mandatory evacuation. Meteorologists have been fairly certain since Thursday that New Orleans was going to be the target of Katrina, and furthermore that in all likelihood Katrina would grow into a Category 4 storm. Experts have warned that a Category 3 storm would ravage New Orleans with 20 foot floods which would require...

Fighting back, Democratic Sen. John Kerry (website - news - bio) called President Bush (website - news - bio) "unfit to lead this nation" because of the war in Iraq and his record on jobs, health care and energy prices. He lashed out at the incumbent and Vice President Dick Cheney (website - news - bio) for avoiding service in the Vietnam War. "I'm not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq," Kerry said in prepared remarks...

Excerpted: TRENTON, N.J. -- The political scene may be chaotic as Democrats and Republicans wrangle over the possibility of a special election to replace Gov. James E. McGreevey, but state law is clear on the process of such an election. If McGreevey stays in office beyond Sept. 3, there will be no special election to fill out his term. He has said he plans to resign Nov. 15, which would make Senate President Richard J. Codey the state's acting governor. --- Codey would serve as governor until the end of McGreevey's scheduled term in January 2006 if McGreevey leaves office...

Limiting jury awards in lawsuits is one way to lower insurance costs nationwide, both in health care professions and for small businesses, said Marvin Scott, a Republican candidate seeking to defeat incumbent U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. in November. "I want to make sure that we have tort reform. What happens too often is that we don't have enough limits on what people can sue for. Indiana does and so does four other states, but when costs are averaged out nationwide, it makes insurance costs higher," Scott said Wednesday in Terre Haute. While in Terre Haute, Scott toured Doughmakers, a...

Limiting jury awards in lawsuits is one way to lower insurance costs nationwide, both in health care professions and for small businesses, said Marvin Scott, a Republican candidate seeking to defeat incumbent U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. in November. "I want to make sure that we have tort reform. What happens too often is that we don't have enough limits on what people can sue for. Indiana does and so does four other states, but when costs are averaged out nationwide, it makes insurance costs higher," Scott said Wednesday in Terre Haute. While in Terre Haute, Scott toured Doughmakers, a...