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WASHINGTON In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, risk lives in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage of the briefings. Bush didn't ask a single question during the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck on Aug. 29 but assured soon-to- be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared." Six days of footage and transcripts obtained by The Associated Press show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New...

...Hurricanes are...bigger...meaner...more numerous than many people have seen...[not]global warming,experts warn. ...Mayfield,director,National Hurricane Center...period of heightened hurricane activity"...since'95...natural fluctuations...cycles...driven by the Atlantic Ocean itself...not enhanced substantially by global warming"...recent studies about global warming and hurricanes raise more questions than they answer...indicate global warming could increase hurricane wind speeds...5%---100 years from now. ...Union of Concerned scientist...[said]making them more intense...recent studies...carbon dioxide is raising ocean temperatures."...converting low-grade storms into powerful hurricanes..." ...not all hurricane experts...link...global warming and hurricanes...saying,past two seasons signal a return to normal. "From 1970-95...weren't...many hurricanes,[except]nice,well-mannered,housebroken hurricanes that stayed out to sea and didn't make a mess,"Willoughby,hurricane researcher... "This year...nature is...

Grew Up in the Projects, Fed Up with Democrats September 9, 2005 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Janet in Hampton, Virginia, we'll start with you today. Great to have you with us. CALLER: Rush? RUSH: Yes. CALLER: Yes. This is Janet. Listen, one thing I've been so angry about-- RUSH: Janet, hold it, you must do me a favor here. I have a little bit of a hearing problem on the phone this week for some reason. Would you slow down what you say a little bit so that I can understand? CALLER: All right. RUSH: Thanks. CALLER: I'm just so...

Hurricane Center Director Tells Paper He Briefed Brown and Chertoff on Danger of Severe Flooding By E&P Staff Published: September 04, 2005 6:55 PM ET NEW YORK Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, told the Times-Picayune Sunday afternoon that officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, including FEMA Director Mike Brown and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, listened in on electronic briefings given by his staff in advance of Hurricane Katrina slamming Louisiana and Mississippi--and were advised of the storm’s potential deadly effects. "Mayfield said the strength of the storm and...

MAYOR CRITICIZED EVEN BEFORE LEVY BREAK. National Hurricane Center Director had to call Nagin at home Saturday night to plead: "Get people out of New Orleans." "The criticisms of Nagin came from above as well. Numerous officials urged him to evacuate the city, but he worried about the legality of ordering people out when New Orleans has few safe hurricane shelters. Also, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield in Miami called Nagin at home Saturday night and told him: Get people out of New Orleans. ''I could never sleep if I felt like I didn't do everything that I could...