Free Republic

Twenty-three Hurricane Rita evacuees died in blaze. The chartered bus that exploded near Dallas last month, killing 23 elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees from a long-term-care facility, had a defective brake, an illegal license plate and a driver -- charged yesterday with negligent homicide -- whose Mexican license wasn't valid in the United States, according to state and federal officials. The operator of the bus, Global Limo Inc., had a low federal driver safety rating. A government investigation after the accident found 168 alleged violations involving the four other buses in Global Limo's fleet, and the federal Department of Transportation has...

Memos after Katrina reveal bureaucratic infighting, concerns about image. WASHINGTON - FEMA struggled to locate food, ice, water and even body bags in the days following Hurricane Katrina, a frantic effort punctuated by bureaucratic chaos, infighting and concerns about media coverage, according to memos obtained Monday by The Associated Press. Five days after the storm hit on Aug. 29, Michael Brown, then director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, e-mailed an aide saying there had been “no action from us” to evacuate storm victims using planes that airlines had made available.