2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 20, 2005 NATION/WORLD New Orleans reopening suspended NEWS IN BRIEF NEHEADRLNENSFRPM-AROUND THE WO' NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Under Rita's projected path and, depending pressure from President Bush and other on its strength and how much rain falls, KEY WEST top federal officials, the mayor sus- N everything could change. Residents pended the reopening of large portions moving into the area may have to c o CEO and finance chie a 41 f sentenced of the city yesterday and instead ordered nearly everyone out because of the risk of a new round of flooding from a tropi- cal storm on the way. "If we are off, I'd rather err on the side of conservatism to make sure we have everyone out," Mayor Ray Nagin said. The announcement came after repeated warnings from top federal officials - and the president himself - that New Orleans was not safe enough to reopen. Among other things, federal officials warned that Tropical Storm Rita could breach the city's temporarily patched-up levees and swamp the city all over again. The news came as the state Health Department raised the death toll from Hurricane Katrina in Louisi- ana by 90 to 736. The toll across the Gulf Coast was 973. The mayor reversed course even as residents began trickling back to the first neighborhood opened as part of Nagin's plan, the lightly damaged Algiers section. The mayor said he had wanted to reopen some of the city's signature neighborhoods over the coming week in order to reassure the people of New Orleans that "there was a city to come back to." He said he had strategically selected ZIP codes that had suffered little or no flooding. uate again," said Col. Duane Gapinski, commander of the Army Corps of Engi- neers task force that is draining New Orleans and repairing the levees. Under the mayor's plan, Algiers opened yesterday, and Uptown, the Garden District and the French Quarter were supposed to reopen one ZIP code at a time between tomorrow and next Monday, bringing a total about 180,000 of New Orleans's half-million inhabit- ants back. The dispute over the reopening was just the latest example of the lack of fed- eral-local coordination that has marked the disaster practically from the start. Nagin saw a quick reopening as a way to get the storm-battered city back in the business of luring tourists. But federal officials warned that such a move could be a few weeks premature, pointing out much of the area does not yet have full electricity and still has no drinkable water, 911 service or working hospitals. With the approach of Rita, Bush added his voice, saying he had "deep concern" about the possibility that New Orleans's levees could be breached again. In addition, Bush said there are significant environmental concerns. New Orleans still lacks safe drink- ing water, and there are fears about the contamination in the remaining floodwaters and the muck left behind in drained areas of the city. V .P PH( After a year in Iraq, 1st Lt. William Besselman of the 256th returned to New Orleans fo find houses damaged and destroyed by Katrina. But "now we have conditions that have changed. We have another hur- ricane that is approaching us," Nagin said. He warned that the city's pump- ing system was not yet running at full capacity and that the levees were still in a "very weak position." He ordered residents who circum- vented checkpoints and slipped back into the still officially closed parts of the city to leave immediately. Those areas include the historic French Quarter, the Garden District, Uptown and the central business district. Nagin also urged everyone already settled back into Algiers to be ready to evacuate as early as tomorrow. Tropical Storm Rita was headed toward the Florida Keys and was expect- ed to become a hurricane, cross the Gulf of Mexico and reach Texas or Mexico by the weekend. But forecasters said it could also veer in Louisiana's direction. "We're watching Tropical Storm L. Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tycd International Ltd., and former Tyco finance chief Mark Swartz were sentenced yesterday to up to 25 years in prison for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the company in a case that outraged the public with its tales of executive greed and excess. The men, who were immediately ordered into custody, will be eligible for parole after serving eight years and four months. Family members wept in the gallery as the sentences were imposed. Kozlowski was led out of the front of the courtroom in handcuffs as his wife quietlysobbed from a bench three rows back. State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus ordered Kozlowski and Swartz to pay a total of $134 million in restitution; in addition, Kozlowski was fined $70 million, Swartz $35 million. The sentences capped a case that exposed the executives' extravagant lifestyle after they pilfered some $600 million from the company including a $2 million toga birthday party for Kozlowski's wife on a Mediterranean island and an $18 million Manhattan apartment with a $6,000 shower curtain. KEY WEST Florida Keys residents evacuated Residents were evacuated from the lower Florida Keys yesterday as strengthen- ing Tropical Storm Rita headed toward the island chain, threatening to grow into a hurricane with a potential 8-foot storm surge. Although Rita's immediate threat was to Florida, rough projections of its track raised the possibility that the Louisiana coast could be targeted less than a month after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. Oil prices surged as traders worried about Rita's possible effect on facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm had sustained wind of about 70 mph by early afternoon, up from 60 mph earlier in the day, and could be a Category 1 hurricane, with wind of at least 74 mph, by the end of the day, the National Hurricane Center said. The Keys evacuation covered 40,000 people living from below Marathon to Key West. Visitors were ordered to clear out of the entire length of the low-lying Keys, which are connected by just one highway. Hurricane warnings were posted for the Keys and Miami-Dade County, and the storm's eye is expected to pass near the islands today, the National Hurricane Cen- ter said. Voluntary evacuation orders were posted for some 134,000 Miami-Dade residents who live in coastal areas such as Miami Beach and Key Biscayne. BASRA, Iraq Attack on jail frees captive British soldiers In a dramatic show of force, British soldiers used tanks to break down the walls of the central jail in this southern city yesterday and freed two Britons, allegedly undercover commandos arrested on charges of shooting two Iraqi policemen. The Basra governor called the rescue a "barbaric" act of aggres- sion. About 150 Iraqi prisoners also fled as British commandos stormed inside and rescued their comrades, said Aquil Jabbar, an Iraqi television camera- man who lives across the street from the jail. During the melee, one British soldier could be seen in a photograph scrambling for his life from a burning tank and the rock-throwing mob. WASHINGTON Commission recommends ID card for voters A private commission trying to restore public confidence in national elections rec- ommended yesterday requiring a free photo ID for voters, drawing opposition from Democrats and some voting rights activists. Critics suggested that having to acquire the ID cards in order to vote could be an obsta- cle for minorities, the poor and older Americans and might intimidate some people. "We believe such a requirement would constitute nothing less than a 21st century poll tax," said a letter from Reps. John Conyers (D-Detroit) and John Lewis (D-Ga.) taxes were once used in some states to prevent black citizens from voting. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. hle £idbiguuiaiI 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com 4 4 I JASON Z. 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