Miracle commencement at Tulane University

Miracle commencementat Tulane University
NEW ORLEANS -- Former Presidents Bush and Clinton, above, helped Tulane University celebrate its "miracle" commencement Saturday, nine months after Hurricane Katrina put two-thirds of campus under water and scattered students to more than 600 schools nationwide. "This commencement will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable and cherished events in the history of our great university," Tulane president Scott S. Cowen said. Degrees were awarded to nearly 2,200 graduates and honorary degrees were presented to Bush, Clinton and several others. The former presidents, who have raised nearly $130 million in relief money for victims of the Aug. 29 storm, received several standing ovations from the graduates and others at the event.
McCain makes stopat Falwell's university
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Sen. John McCain, looking to heal a rift with the religious conservatives who undermined his 2000 White House bid, told students graduating at the Rev. Jerry Falwell's university Saturday that Americans have a right to disagree on issues but should maintain respect for each other. The Arizona Republican specifically referred to disagreements over the war in Iraq during his commencement address at Liberty University. He noted that the war "has taken innocent life," but he said he has stood his ground in support of it because he believed "my country's interests and values required it." McCain defended the rights of those who disagree with him and argued that "Americans deserve more than tolerance from one another." "We deserve each other's respect, whether we think each other right or wrong in our views, as long as our character and our sincerity merit respect, and as long as we share, for all our differences, for all the noisy debates that enliven our politics, a mutual devotion to the sublime idea that this nation was conceived in -- that freedom is the inalienable right of mankind, and in accord with the laws of nature and nature's creator," he said.
Zimbabwe sees runaway inflation
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate topped 1,000 percent for the first time, underlining the economic collapse of a country crippled by shortages. Moffat Nyoni, director of the Government's Central Statistical Office, said that inflation for the 12 months to April 2006 was 1,042.9 percent, according to a state radio report Saturday. A package of the cheapest candy costs 57,000 Zimbabwe dollars and a loaf of bread 100,000 Zimbabwe dollars. But the maximum denomination note is 50,000 Zimbabwe dollars, forcing shoppers to carry bags full of money for basic daily purchases. Since mobile phones went into service in 1996 as fixed phone services crashed, the price of the most inexpensive phone has increased 5,000 times. The price of a single car battery this year could have bought 14 brand new cars 10 years ago.
Pope names new bishop
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI named a new bishop Saturday for Vietnam, a country that lacks ties with the Vatican but has the second highest number of Catholics in Southeast Asia. Relations between the Holy See and Vietnam's communist government have sometimes been strained over Hanoi's insistence on having the final say in most of the church's appointments. The Vatican said that the Rev. Joseph Cau Ngoc Tri will serve as Da Nang's bishop, replacing a bishop who retired. The 49-year-old new bishop was born in a village in Da Nang diocese. Late last year, thousands of faithful turned out for a ceremony in Vietnam to mark the creation of a new diocese, the first in more than 30 years, in a sign of thawing relations between the Vatican and Vietnam.
Puerto Rico seeks end to government shutdown
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico's Senate approved a key piece of legislation Saturday aimed at resolving a partial government shutdown that has closed the U.S. territory's schools and kept more than 100,000 public employees out of work since May 1. The Senate unanimously authorized a $740 million loan to finance the government's operations and payroll until the end of the fiscal year June 30. The bill, which still needed the signature of the governor to take effect, paved the way for a half-million students to return class Monday and for furloughed civil service workers to resume their jobs. "My pen is ready," Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila said minutes before the Senate announced passage of the measure.
Associated Press