WASHINGTON (AP) — Katrina is what classrooms call a teachable moment. Everyone is picking through the mistakes from all levels of government for lessons that will spare more lives and property when disaster visits the country again. The needs in a nutshell: more, sooner, faster and, of course, better. More rescuers and equipment, sent out…

By DEBORAH HASTINGS / AP National Writer In devastated Chalmette, La., at Lehrmann’s bar and seafood restaurant just across the street from a refinery, pool tables were converted to beds for those who lost their homes but refused to leave flooded St. Bernard’s parish. In New Orleans, mattresses became life rafts and plastic storage bins…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Predicting an easy confirmation for John Roberts, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday he hoped President Bush’s next Supreme Court nominee will share Roberts’ conservative credentials. “I hope that we’ll have somebody who is modest like Judge Roberts says he is, someone who will promote stability so there are…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Mayor Ray Nagin’s plan to officially reopen parts of New Orleans drew criticism from federal officials and health care experts who warn that city services might not be able to handle the influx of people. Nagin said residents may return Monday to Algiers, a section of the city across the Mississippi…

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Fact: World oil production will peak someday, and supplies will start running out. But when will the tipping point come — in years, decades, or a couple of months from now? The oil industry says crude will be plentiful for at least another generation. But some experts argue reserves are overstated,…

MEMPHIS (AP) — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum officials plan a satellite location in Memphis, two decades after snubbing the city as the location for the main facility. “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame obviously was a very big disappointment 20 years ago when they didn’t locate here the first…

By MATT CRENSON / AP National Writer Given enough money, engineers agree that they could eventually build a system of levees and other flood control structures sufficient to protect New Orleans from another Katrina or even a stronger hurricane. But it would cost billions, and the work might not be completed for up to 30…

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE / AP Medical Writer CLEVELAND — In the next few weeks, five men and seven women will secretly visit the Cleveland Clinic to interview for the chance to have a radical operation that’s never been tried anywhere in the world. They will smile, raise their eyebrows, close their eyes, open their mouths.…

By RITA BEAMISH / Associated Press Writer As far back as eight years ago, Congress ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan for evacuating New Orleans during a massive hurricane, but the money instead went to studying the causeway bridge that spans the city’s Lake Pontchartrain, officials say. The outcome provides one…

By JOHN GEROME / Associated Press Writer MARTY STUART NASHVILLE — The question is bound to come up, and Marty Stuart doesn’t look at all uncomfortable when it does. Will people think it disingenuous of him to release a collection of spiritual songs a year after being charged with his second DUI? “I watched Johnny…