AP - A federal plan to buy thousands of flood-prone homes on Mississippi's hurricane-battered coast is shaping up to be far more modest than many residents had feared.

AP - After violent clashes with police at City Hall, protesters vowed that the fight over a plan to demolish 218 public housing buildings for the poor was far from over, both in the courts and on the streets.

AP - The Army Corps of Engineers followed federal rules when it awarded a contract to a politically connected manufacturer to provide pumps to this city after Hurricane Katrina, Congress' investigative arm said Thursday.

AP - A federal plan to buy thousands of flood-prone homes on Mississippi's hurricane-battered coast is shaping up to be far more modest than many residents had feared.

AP - The National Rifle Association has hired private investigators to find hundreds of people whose firearms were seized by city police in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to court papers filed this week.

AP - Despite slow progress in rebuilding some neighborhoods, New Orleans' population is nearing 300,000, or about 65 percent of its pre-Hurricane Katrina size, according to a new report.

AP - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt used their star power Saturday to help The Children's Health Fund focus attention on the more than 46,000 children still displaced 2 1/2 years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed their homes.

AP - Just 10 days ago, he was one of hundreds who shuffled through the homeless camp that stained the mayor's doorstep. On Friday, he was Ricky Kees, guest in Room 402 of a local hotel, holding a steady job and wearing a fresh change of clothes.

AP - After violent clashes with police at City Hall, protesters vowed that the fight over a plan to demolish 218 public housing buildings for the poor was far from over, both in the courts and on the streets.

Reuters - The United Nations food agency appealed on Friday for $4 million to help tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes in the Dominican Republic after Tropical Storm Olga unleashed flash floods.

Reuters - Federal health experts will begin testing for formaldehyde in trailers provided to people displaced by Hurricane Katrina after complaints of health problems, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

Reuters - The death toll from Tropical Storm Olga neared two dozen on Thursday after flash floods killed at least 19 people in the Dominican Republic, where 35,000 people were forced to flee their homes, Dominican officials said.

AFP - Tropical Storm Olga, a rare December cyclone, left at least 14 people dead in the Caribbean as pounding rains triggered major floods and landslides, authorities said Wednesday.

AFP - Next year's Atlantic hurricane activity should be slightly higher than average, forecasters said Thursday, following a cyclonic season that was quieter than anticipated but caused devastation in central America.

Reuters - The noted Colorado State University hurricane research team predicted on Friday that 13 tropical storms will develop in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, of which seven would strengthen into hurricanes.