Jenna's Other Side: A Doting Teacher
The Tangled History of the Date Palm
Lt. Gen. David Petraeus spent more than two years in Iraq, first leading the 101st Airborne into battle in the initial invasion, then overseeing Mosul, and finally as the leader of the effort to rebuild the Iraqi Army and police until stepping down last month. For his efforts, Iraq made him the first American general to receive the Golden Award of the Iraqi Order of the Date Palm, one of the nation's highest honors. Here's the rest of the story: The medal was originally presented during the Saddam Hussein era. And it was pinned on by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, the Pentagon's favorite exile before the war who was later accused of being a spy. It's just the latest example of how confusing the situation in Iraq can be.
Now for Katrina's Bright Side...
It's not all devastation for the White House in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Aides actually see some benefits, mostly to their policy agenda. Here's the inside view: More fuel refineries will be built, regulations on energy will be cut, Davis-Bacon wage requirements will be eliminated, and major tax reforms will win a receptive audience in Congress.
West Nile on the Potomac
Tourists beware: Washington's Mall can be deadly. Turns out it's a hotbed of the sometimes fatal West Nile virus. "The Mall has the highest density of mosquitoes in the region," says A. Marm Kilpatrick, a senior research scientist at the Consortium for Conservation Medicine. We ran into him last week as he pulled birds from nets rigged on the Mall; he was drawing blood in a quest to figure out how West Nile infects humans. He has made some discoveries: House sparrows and grackles spread the disease like crazy, while pigeons don't.
Pumping Iron to Save Her Bones
Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins is lifting weights, but not to fight Democrats. She tells us her enemy is osteoporosis. "I'm lifting," she says. "Free weights twice a week, which isn't enough." It's all part of her effort to keep the bone disease that strikes women at bay. How much does she lift? Collins, 52, laughs. "Eight-pound weights," she confesses, "but you've got to realize where I started."
usnews.com Katrina general ' s " Stupid " bark at reporters takes off: www.usnews.com/whispers
With Suzi Parker, Julian E. Barnes and Nancy Shute
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