KATRINA'S DEVASTATION Relief efforts and problems

The latest developments in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
GLOBAL AID
In a turnabout, the United States is now on the receiving end of help from around the world as some two dozen countries offer post-hurricane assistance. Venezuela, a target of frequent criticism by the Bush administration, offered humanitarian aid and fuel. Venezuela's Citgo Petroleum Corp. pledged a $1 million donation for hurricane aid.
The United Nations informed U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton it was prepared to support the relief effort "in any way possible." Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sent a letter to President Bush offering hundreds of doctors, nurses, technicians and other experts in trauma, natural disasters and public health. With offers from the four corners of the globe pouring in, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has decided "no offer that can help alleviate the suffering of the people in the afflicted area will be refused," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday.
NOT COMING HOME
National Guard troops from Louisiana and other Gulf states will not be pulled out of Iraq ahead of schedule despite the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. command said Thursday. Some units are due to leave next month anyway following a year in Iraq, but the process could take weeks to complete. "They're not going to be leaving early as a result of the hurricane," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told The Associated Press. He said the military had set up help lines for servicemen from the Southern states hardest hit by the hurricane trying to contact family members.
RELIEF PAYMENT
Congress rushed to provide a $10.5 billion down payment in relief aid for Gulf Coast victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Senate approved the measure Thursday night, and the House will convene at noon today to speed the measure to Bush's desk. Several officials said $10.5 billion would cover immediate costs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government's front-line responder in cases of natural disasters. Several hundred million dollars would also be provided to fund the Pentagon's disaster relief efforts, congressional aides said.
TROOPS ON DUTY
The military expects to put 30,000 National Guard troops on duty in the Gulf states as demands grow for more security and relief assistance, the commander in charge of military relief and rescue efforts said Thursday. About 24,000 of those will be on the ground in Louisiana and Mississippi in the next three days, Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said in a telephone interview with reporters at the Pentagon. He also ordered the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan from the Louisiana coast to waters off Biloxi, Miss., to assist with hurricane relief operations there. The additional Guard units, plus active duty troops responding to the disaster, brings the total military complement to more than 40,000.
MEDICAL SUPPLIES
Six truckloads of medical materials from the Strategic National Stockpile are headed to Louisiana and Mississippi, and 10 temporary hospitals should open at area military bases by tonight. The government said emergency medical shelters are being established at Fort Polk, La., the Mississippi Air National Guard Station in Jackson, Eglin Air Force Base near Pensacola, Fla., and the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Miss.
PRICE GOUGING
Soaring gasoline costs prompted thousands of complaints Thursday to federal officials about alleged price gouging and demands by some members of Congress for an investigation into gasoline markets. The Energy Department reported more than 5,000 calls to its price gouging hotline from motorists around the country, although officials emphasized there was no way to immediately determine how many of the allegations were valid.
CLOSED PORTS
Shipments of grain and other commodities have languished on barges on the Mississippi River since Saturday, unable to pass through the New Orleans ports closed by Hurricane Katrina. It remained unclear Thursday when the ports will reopen for business, raising questions about what will happen with this year's upcoming corn and soybean harvest. While alternative ports in Houston, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Tampa, Fla., say they're ready to handle incoming ships, New Orleans ports are critical to what goes out, industry experts say. New Orleans traditionally has handled more than half of the country's grain exports to overseas destinations.
ASKING FOR HELP
Doctors at two desperately crippled hospitals in New Orleans called The Associated Press on Thursday morning pleading for rescue, saying they were nearly out of food and power and had been forced to move patients to higher floors to escape looters. "We have been trying to call the mayor's office, we have been trying to call the governor's office ... we have tried to use any inside pressure we can. We are turning to you. Please help us," said Dr. Norman McSwain, chief of trauma surgery at Charity Hospital, the larger of two public hospitals. Late Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Surgeon General's office told the AP that five private helicopters had been secured to start taking patients out of Charity Hospital.
Source: Associated Press