Washington

Red Cross seeking donations for disaster relief fund

With its disaster relief fund at the lowest level in more than a decade, American Red Cross is seeking help.

The relief fund, which aims to keep a balance of $56 million, had dwindled to $1.2 million by the end of July. The fund has spent $114.3 million over the past year, while donations have totaled less than $40 million.

The organization says hurricane season can be a particularly demanding time, and some weather experts say this could be an intense year.

The Red Cross has spent in the past year nearly 40 percent of its disaster relief fund, or $43.6 million, on hurricanes, tropical storms and typhoons.

Five years ago, Hurricane Georges cost the organization $101 million. The Red Cross opened 1,103 shelters and served nearly 1.1 million meals.

Florida

Task force looks ahead to next shuttle mission

NASA is moving ahead with plans for its next shuttle flight even as the space agency awaits the report on the Columbia accident.

On Thursday a new 27-member task force had its first public meeting on returning to space. The independent panel chartered by NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe will decide whether the space agency is carrying out recommendations expected to come out of the report by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

Comprised mostly of former astronauts and ex-NASA workers, the task group will be solely advisory and won’t have the power to stop NASA from launching a shuttle.

Columbia was destroyed during re-entry on Feb. 1, killing all seven astronauts on board.

ROME

Iraq will decide on OPEC quotas, U.S. official says

The Iraqi people and not the United States will decide if the country should accept OPEC quotas on its oil production, the U.S. energy secretary insisted Thursday.

Iraq’s exports are still far below prewar levels, but the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has been watching closely, concerned that a revival of Iraqi crude exports might flood the market with crude and drive down prices and revenues for oil exporters everywhere.

The United States, meanwhile, is taking care not to be seen as dictating Iraqi oil policy.

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham stressed Thursday that the Iraqis must eventually decide how to sell their oil.

“We will not make that choice for them, that will be the decision of the people of Iraq.”

Florida

Tornado destroys homes

About 500 homes were damaged or destroyed by a tornado that touched down Thursday in north Palm Beach County, flipping semitrailers, snapping power poles and tearing roofs off businesses. Only minor injuries were reported.

Most of the damage took place north of West Palm Beach. At the Garden Walk mobile home park, the tornado collapsed the roofs and walls of several homes and pushed others off their foundations.

A gas leak forced the evacuation of 200 residents in the mobile home park.