Docs Prep for Hurricane Ike Baby 'Boomlet'

Officials don't want immigration enforcement to impede evacuations

(NEWSER) - The federal government has declared a “hurricane amnesty” in an attempt to get Texas’ illegal immigrants out of Hurricane Ike’s way, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Immigration officials will not attempt to arrest illegals in shelters or along common evacuation routes. The Red Cross has begun outreach programs informing undocumented residents of the amnesty today, the first day of mandatory evacuations. More»

(AP) - Rescue crews in high-wheel trucks, helicopters and boats ventured out to pluck people from their homes today in an all-out search for thousands of Texans who stubbornly stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike. The storm blew out skyscraper windows, cut power to millions and swamped thousands of homes along the coast. Yachts were carried up onto roadways, buildings and homes collapsed and cars floated in floodwaters. More»

Prediction of 22-foot storm surge brings dire evacuation warning from weather service

(NEWSER) - Refusing to evacuate could be the last mistake residents living in hurricane-vulnerable homes in coastal Texas ever make, the National Weather Service has warned. The dire warning of "certain death" facing some single-family home dwellers came as forecasters predicted a storm surge of up to 22 feet along Galveston Bay, CNN reports. Almost 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate. More»

(NEWSER) - Officials in the coastal Texas town of Galveston are baffled by a series of arson fires targeting palm trees, the Houston Chronicle reports. “This is strange,” the town’s fire marshal says of the spree, which has hit 30 trees since May. “It’s the first case in my experience dealing with a tree arsonist.” More»

Bush and Clinton, having raised $1.5M, see more need in devastated Texas

(NEWSER) - Former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton called today for more money to aid Texas communities devastated by Hurricane Ike, the Houston Chronicle reports. The pair, who toured the Galveston area, has raised $1.5 million for their Bush-Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund. The money will be used to augment state and local efforts once reconstruction begins. More»