Edwards Vows to Ax Hacks

Michael 'heckuva job, Brownie' Brown says he just follows Colts

(NEWSER) - The Indianapolis Colts have perhaps taken over as public enemy No. 1 in New Orleans ahead of tomorrow’s Super Bowl matchup with the Saints, but that’s not stopping Michael Brown from trying to get the crown back. Brown, whose handling of Hurricane Katrina as head of the FEMA still gets Louisianans furious, couldn’t bring himself to play nice, or avoid the question entirely, when asked to pick a winner. More»

(NEWSER) - With the end of the decade near, Newsweek has rounded up the top 10 most important quotes from 2000 to 2009. A selection:

• "Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job": President George W. Bush, Sept. 2, 2005. In one line to then-FEMA director Michael Brown, Bush summed up everything wrong with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
• "God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule": The Onion, September 26, 2001. With a traumatized nation desperately in need of humor to deal with 9/11, the Onion managed to find the perfect tone.

City wants dwellers out by new year

(NEWSER) - In the five years since Hurricane Katrina, FEMA trailers have been a fixture of the New Orleans landscape—but by the start of next year, the city wants the last ones gone. It calls the 221 remaining trailers an eyesore, and says residents will have to pay fines—as much as $500 a day—if they don't move out. But leaving could be tough for those who have come to call the trailers home, the AP reports. More»

Anti-oil prez waited for disaster, says ex-FEMA chief

(NEWSER) - President Obama's doing a heckuva job in using the Gulf oil spill to further his anti-Big Oil agenda, according to former FEMA chief Michael Brown. Brown—whose handling of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath won praise from few apart from President Bush—says that Obama waited for the oil spill to worsen so he could shut down offshore drilling, the Huffington Post reports. More»

John Edwards coverage fails to boost supermarket tabloid

(NEWSER) - The Washington Post won four Pulitzer Prizes today, one more than the archrival New York Times—and four more than the National Enquirer, which entered its coverage of the John Edwards sex scandal . In a breakthrough for online journalism, Sheri Fink of ProPublica won for an investigation of euthanasia at a Katrina-crippled hospital published in the New York Times Magazine. More»