National Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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WASHINGTON


INSPECTOR GENERAL: HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS POORLY MANAGED


The Homeland Security Department has allowed federal grants for improving security at America’s ports to be spent on low priority problems rather than the most serious vulnerabilities, the agency’s outgoing watchdog says.


In a draft report to be released next month, Homeland Security Department Inspector General Clark Kent Ervin says port security spending should be governed by the most pressing priorities rather than local politics.


Blaming inadequate staffing and poor coordination, Ervin said the department’s port security grant program needs better oversight to make sure projects that get money meet security goals.


“The DHS does not have a strong grant evaluation process in place by which to address post-award administration issues, including measuring progress in accomplishing DHS’ grant objectives,” Mr. Ervin said in a recent summary of the report. The summary was contained in another report from Mr. Ervin’s office, “Major Management Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security,” which was posted on the DHS Web site.


The grant program has been criticized in the past for being too cumbersome and for awarding money to projects of questionable use. The report is one of the last submitted by Mr. Ervin, who earned a reputation as a blunt critic of the department before leaving the job earlier this month.


DHS spokesman Brian Roehrkasse declined to comment until the full report is completed, but said the department had streamlined its grant processes earlier this year.


– Associated Press


MIDWEST


OHIO PRESIDENTIAL RECOUNT SHOWS A CLOSER VOTE


TOLEDO, Ohio – Election officials finished the presidential recount in Ohio yesterday, with the final tally shaving about 300 votes off President Bush’s six-figure margin of victory in the state that gave him a second term.


The recount shows Mr. Bush winning Ohio by 118,457 votes over Senator Kerry, according to unofficial results provided to The Associated Press by the 88 counties. Lucas County, home to Toledo, was the last to finish counting.


The state had earlier declared Mr. Bush the winner by 118,775 votes and plans to adjust its totals to reflect the recount later this week.


The Kerry campaign supported the recount, but said it did not expect the tally to change the election winner. Supporters of the recount, requested by two minor party candidates, said they wanted to make sure every valid vote was counted.


Ohio and its 20 electoral votes tipped the race to Mr. Bush when Mr. Kerry conceded the morning after the vote.


Mr. Kerry gained 734 more votes in the recount, and Mr. Bush picked up 449, mostly from disqualified ballots that were counted in the second tally because hanging chads had come loose when ballots were handled again or rerun through counting machines.


That put Mr. Kerry 285 votes closer to Mr. Bush. The president’s victory margin declined by about three dozen more votes when some counties adjusted their certified vote totals. The Green and Libertarian party presidential candidates asked for the recount and raised the $113,600 required under state law for the process.


Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has estimated that the recount will end up costing taxpayers $1.5 million.


– Associated Press


SOUTH


55-YEAR-OLD HAS TRIPLETS FOR HER DAUGHTER


RICHMOND, Va. – A 55-year-old woman acting as a surrogate for her daughter gave birth to triplets yesterday.


The two boys and one girl were delivered a month and a half prematurely by Caesarean section at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital. Surrogate mother Tina Cade experienced “mild complications,” which the hospital said is not uncommon for such surgery.


Ms. Cade carried her own grandchildren for her oldest daughter, Camille Hammond, who suffers from endometriosis, a condition that affects the lining of the uterus and makes it difficult to become pregnant.


Ms. Hammond and her husband, Jason, both doctors at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, had tried for four years to become pregnant. Ms. Cade approached the couple with the idea of carrying their child and began hormone treatment last winter to turn back her biological clock – she had already entered menopause – and prepare her for pregnancy. Months later, she was implanted with three test-tube embryos. The babies were not due until mid-February, but doctors decided to perform a C-section because Ms. Cade was having excessive swelling. There were also concerns about her heart. The infants were in intensive care. The boys weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and 3 pounds, 12 ounces; the girl weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces. Their names were not released.


– Associated Press


WEST


STORM CAUSES POWER OUTAGES, MUDSLIDES


LOS ANGELES – A powerful storm battered Southern California yesterday with winds up to 60 mph and drenching rainfall, causing highway-blocking mudslides, flooding, and power outages.


Up to a foot of rain was possible in one mountain area. The wind uprooted trees and caused scattered power outages.


Residents were ordered to evacuate one section of the San Bernardino County town of Devore, 60 miles east of Los Angeles. A flash flood on Christmas Day 2003 killed 16 people near there.


Highway flooding caused traffic accidents early yesterday in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A mudslide in Santa Barbara County closed northbound lanes of Highway 101, backing up traffic for about 20 miles, said Danette Yriarte, a dispatch supervisor for the California Highway Patrol. Rockslides littered many canyon roads.


Southern California Edison said about 10,000 customers complained of lasting power outages yesterday.


– Associated Press

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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