Dashboard: Sep. 3, 2007

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PAMPLONA, SPAIN State-run TV ends live coverage of bullfighting

OKINAWA PREFECTURE, JAPAN Passengers and crew safely exit burning plane

THE CARIBBEAN Hurricane Dean strikes Jamaica and Mexico

BLACKSBURG, VA. Virginia Tech students return to classes

RIO DE JANEIRO Vying for gold at the Parapan American Games

MANSFIELD, OHIO Worst flooding in Ohio in nearly 100 years

Washington Memo

A Surge in Speculation

Everyone in Washington is anxiously awaiting the release of General David Petraeus' report (though the law requiring the report mandates that it come from President Bush, even Bush calls it "Petraeus' report") as well as the general's testimony before Congress, set for Sept. 11. Squabbling over Iraq has been largely brought to a standstill in the capital while lawmakers wait to hear what Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has to say about progress--or the lack thereof--in the country. But over the past week, a handful of military officers have made statements telegraphing the conclusions Petraeus will probably reach. And that has jump-started debate once again.

Petraeus is making clear that too much American blood has been spilled in Iraq for the U.S. to continue without wholesale progress being made by "the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi people, the Iraqi political leaders." His comments, echoed by President Bush during the North American summit in Quebec, seem to be a predicate for declaring that if Iraq is lost, it will be the Iraqis' fault. Top U.S. generals are predicting that the 30,000-strong troop surge will begin receding in early 2008, bringing the total U.S. military presence down to 130,000 by next August. Military officials hint that they want to sustain that level through the end of the Bush Administration.

But many Democrats want deeper, quicker cuts. Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has just returned from Iraq. He was as impressed by the Iraqi military he saw as he was frustrated by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government. Citing improvements in the Iraqi forces, Levin says the U.S. can begin withdrawing troops in four months and cut the total number in half by mid-2008. And while Levin wants al-Maliki voted out of office, Bush has pointedly said the decision is "up to the Iraqis ... not American politicians."

AIR TRAVEL

Airport Meltdown

Travelers beware! According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 25% of airline arrivals and 21% of departures were delayed from January to June of this year. With a growing number of passengers and more small jets crowding the skies, things will only get worse. Congress may be flyers' last hope. An estimated $22 billion proposal to replace the radar system with satellite communication could find more-direct routes.

[This article contains a complex diagram.  Please see hardcopy or pdf.] 30.9% Percentage of all departures that were delayed or canceled at major U.S. airports in June The situation in various U.S. cities

Salt Lake City (SLC) 17.8%

San Diego (SAN) 19.1%

Portland, Ore. (PDX) 19.4%

Los Angeles (LAX) 20.6%

Tampa (TPA) 23.6%

Oakland (OAK) 24.3%

Atlanta (ATL) 37.5%

Charlotte (CLT) 38.3%

Newark (EWR) 39.1%

New York City (JFK) 39.4%

Philadelphia (PHL) 39.6%

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) 43.7%

HURRICANES

Scanning for Storms

Hurricane Dean crashed into Mexico on Aug. 21 with winds up to 168 m.p.h., making it the first Category 5 storm to hit land since 1992. It eventually slackened, but as hurricane risks increase, weather watchers at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are trying to sharpen their vigil on storms. Here's how:

SATELLITE From 22,000 miles above the equator, satellites scope the location, size and intensity of new storms, but the NHC head says some outdated satellites could fail soon, hurting forecasts.

RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT The U.S. Air Force Reserve still sends planes into the core of hurricanes to chart wind, pressure and humidity. New drone airplanes are being used to get better data as well.

RADAR Doppler weather radars give details on a storm's wind change as it crawls closer to the coast, scanning once every six minutes (plane observations come in only once every few hours).

COMPUTER MODELING All data are fed into storm-surge models, which help predict flooding. Wind forecasts are still subpar. The average error in 2005 was 23 m.p.h., the same as in 1970.

LEXICON

China-free

DEFINITION chi-na-free adj. A term proposed for use on food labels to show that products are not made in China.

CONTEXT In light of recent health and safety scares regarding Chinese-made food and products, a U.S.-based company called Food for Health International has announced plans to put "China-free" stickers on its goods. The subtext: These products won't make you sick or have harmful contaminants like melamine.

USAGE Given recent recalls of items from toys to toothpaste, China-free labeling could catch on, though consumers would do well to remember that not all products from China are tainted and not all tainted products are from China.

ARTIFACT

Border Patrol's New Look

AGENT MAKEOVER A new military-style uniform that replaces earlier policeman-like attire with flexible cargo pants, quick-release plastic belts and discrete cloth badges.

PRETTY PENNY The first uniform change in almost 60 years will cost the government $7.5 million for 14,000 agents.

WHY CHANGE? Tightened security along the U.S.-Mexico border has officials pursuing suspects in tougher terrain and more extreme desert heat. These uniforms match the new job description.

ODD DECREES

Set Your Clocks to Chávez

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez wants to help citizens improve their metabolism and efficiency, so on Jan. 1, 2008, he plans to move clocks ahead 30 minutes. During a seven-hour radio address, Chávez said that "the human brain is conditioned by sunlight" and Technology Minister Hector Navarro noted that more daylight hours would benefit "all Venezuelans in their jobs and studies."

SPRING FORWARD Changing the clock puts Venezuela in a different time zone from its neighbors and could make travel and trade more difficult. But Chávez, say critics, already controls Venezuela's congress and most of its Supreme Court, so why not try to control time?

World Spotlight

India's Nuclear Discord