JIM LEHRER: Tropical Storm Ernesto advanced on south Florida late today. The storm began to regain strength as it left Cuba and crossed the Florida Straits. Rain was falling across south Florida by this morning from the Keys to Miami. In Dade County, residents filled sandbags to ward off possible flooding. Ernesto was expected to move up the state, then re-enter the Atlantic Ocean. It could make a second landfall in South Carolina on Thursday. In advance, the governor of South Carolina activated the National Guard.
Ernesto arrived on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. People on the Gulf Coast spent this day remembering the devastation and more than 1,800 dead. Ceremonies in New Orleans marked the moment the levees began to fail, 9:38 a.m. Residents gathered along the 17th Street Canal to drop wreathes and flowers into the water.
At another service, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco said officials did all they knew to do, but it was not enough.
GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), Louisiana: Prepared for the damage of what we once knew as difficult hurricanes, we ultimately faced the greatest catastrophe, the greatest natural catastrophe that this nation has ever experienced. Every life we lost we mourn today like it was yesterday; every family displaced we yearn to bring home.
JIM LEHRER: President Bush also attended a prayer service. Later, at a local school, he acknowledged failings that made the disaster even worse.
GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: The hurricane also brought terrible scenes that we never thought we would see in America: citizens drowning in their attics; desperate mothers crying out on national TV for food and water; a breakdown of law and order; and a government at all levels that fell short of its responsibilities.
I take full responsibility for the federal government's response. And a year ago, I made a pledge that we will learn the lessons of Katrina and that we will do what it takes to help you recover.
JIM LEHRER: We'll have more on the recovery effort and funding right after this news summary.
The president of Iran rejected U.N. authority today and challenged President Bush. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke two days before a U.N. deadline to stop enriching uranium. He told a news conference Iran will not give up its nuclear program despite a threat of U.N. sanctions. He also said he wants to talk to President Bush directly.
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, President of Iran (through translator): I propose a debate with Mr. Bush, president of the United States, in a live, televised conversation about world issues and ways of solving the problems of the international community.
JIM LEHRER: The Iranian leader also argued the U.S. and Britain should no longer have veto power in the U.N. Security Council.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey quickly dismissed the challenge to debate.
TOM CASEY, State Department Spokesman: I think this is a distraction. And I also think it's somewhat odd for the president of a country that represses all debate within its own society to be talking about free and open exchange of ideas.
JIM LEHRER: We'll have more on this from Margaret Warner in Iran later in the program tonight.
In Iraq today, more than two dozen bodies were found in Shiite areas of Baghdad. Most had signs of torture.
But there was relative calm in a southern city, where Shiite militiamen fought Iraqi troops on Monday. The government said 50 gunmen and 23 soldiers were killed. The militia is loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and we'll have more on that story later in the program.
The U.S. military announced today five more Americans killed in Iraq; that makes 13 since Sunday.
Elsewhere, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld had sharp words for critics of the war. He told the American Legion Convention in Salt Lake City the world faces "a new type of fascism." He compared the critics to those who appeased the Nazis before World War II.
U.N. Secretary-General Annan voiced hope today about quickly expanding a peacekeeping force in south Lebanon. He spoke as he continued his visit to the region in the wake of the Israel-Hezbollah war. Annan talked of a major increase in the U.N. force by Friday.
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. Secretary-General: My hope was that with the French deployment moving forward and the Italians beginning on Friday that we should be able to double relatively quickly the 2,500 men we have on the ground and move up to 5,000 so that the Israelis can withdraw, the Israeli troops can come back home.
JIM LEHRER: In Lebanon, Annan met with troops in the existing U.N. force and toured part of the terrain. In Israel, he met families of two soldiers captured by Hezbollah and urged their quick release. He also called again for Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanon.
Back in this country, the Census Bureau announced today the poverty rate was unchanged in 2005 after rising four years in a row, but more people made do without health insurance. Some 37 million Americans lived under the federal poverty line; that's 12.6 percent of the population.
Well over 46 million had no health coverage. That figure rose more than one million over the previous year.
The College Board today reported the largest drop in SAT scores in 31 years. Combined reading and math scores fell an average of seven points for the high school class of 2006. The college entrance test was longer last year. And the board said, as a result, a number of students took it only once instead of twice.
Oil prices closed below $70 today for the first time in two months. In New York, crude oil fell 90 cents to settle at $69.71 a barrel.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 18 points to close just below 11,370. The Nasdaq rose 11 points to close at 2,172.
