Red Cross officials announced plans yesterday to dramatically increase their stockpile of food and other disaster supplies in key danger zones nationwide and partner with community-based organizations to speed assistance to victims – all to avoid a repeat of problems the charity experienced last year in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The changes mark a shift in how the nonprofit conducts itself. Traditionally, the Red Cross has relied largely on its own resources in times of crisis. The future will find it relying much more on community-based groups when it confronts disasters.
The Washington Post
Rapper friend of Eminem slain at club
DETROIT – One of Eminem's closest friends was killed early yesterday in a seedy nightclub along the road made famous by the rap superstar.
Proof, 32, a member of the rap group D12, was hit by gunfire at the CCC club on Eight Mile, the dividing line between Detroit and its northern suburbs. Police said Proof and another man were shot in the head. The other man lived but was in critical condition.
“It's kind of a messy affair, and we're trying to sort it all out,” said police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings.
Associated Press
Moussaoui jury sees airplane's damage
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Zacarias Moussaoui defiantly proclaimed “burn all Pentagon next time” as prosecutors yesterday presented horrific evidence showing crash and burn damage from a hijacked airliner driving into the U.S. military headquarters at 530 mph on Sept. 11, 2001, incinerating many of the 189 victims.
Survivors described a nightmare of choking smoke, pitch dark interior offices and raging fire as they tried to negotiate their way through debris to rescuers. Prosecutors presented the sentencing jury three photographs showing burned human remains amid the wreckage on a day that saw testimony end 90 minutes early.
Prosecutors are asking the jury to impose the death penalty on Moussaoui, and they plan to end their case today by playing the entire cockpit voice recorder publicly for the first time.
Hearst News Service
Defense contractors face tougher policy
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is toughening its policy of awarding bonuses to defense contractors. From now on, they will have to do at least a satisfactory job to qualify for the extra money.
The new policy, detailed in two March 21 Federal Register notices and in a March 29 memo from James Finley, the Pentagon's No. 2 procurement official, is a response to a Government Accountability Office study last year that found that some payments to defense contractors were, well, indefensible.
In its study of 93 contracts, the GAO found that the Defense Department paid out $8 billion in special award and incentive fees, often without regard to performance. In many cases projects were behind schedule, over budget and experiencing significant technical problems.
The Washington Post
