WASHINGTON (AP) — Powerful hurricanes like Katrina — the most destructive such storm ever to hit the United States — are becoming more common, according to a new study sure to fuel debate over whether global warming is to blame. In the 1970s there was an average of about 11 storms of the powerful category…

NEW YORK (AP) — Katrina introduced the nation’s Haves to the sight of its Have-nots. A hurricane was needed (plus a blundering emergency response) to remind us that every resident of New Orleans couldn’t simply jump into his SUV and flee to higher ground. Then, with the awful drama unfolding, a hapless cast of thousands…

SMYRNA (AP) — A male evacuee from Hurricane Katrina was diagnosed with cholera and quarantined on Thursday, Tennessee Health Department officials said. The man was staying in a shelter at the Tennessee National Guard Armory, where about 280 evacuees have passed through since Sept. 2, The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro reported. “We have received…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee’s tourism outlook for the fall and winter is strong despite higher gasoline prices, state officials said. Tourist Development Commissioner Susan Whitaker said that after some Labor Day travel cancellations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she expects the state will see a rebound because inquiries for tourism information rose sharply. In…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — In a setting that would have made a good campaign stop, Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen shared his views on Hurricane Katrina, leadership and ethics at an event staged by the city’s Republican mayor. Bredesen got a warm reception at a luncheon Thursday organized by Mayor Bill Haslam that included a question-and-answer session…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen said Thursday he was leaning toward calling the General Assembly for a special session in January to address ethics reform. Bredesen created the Citizen Advisory Group on Ethics this summer after five current or former lawmakers were indicted in the Tennessee Waltz bribery sting to study ways the state…

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division are undergoing live fire training in anticipation of a deployment to Iraq. The exercises come just two months after Pfc. Gregory B. Wertz, 19, was killed while training with the 2nd Brigade Combat team on how to clear buildings of enemy insurgents. Troop leaders…

By WOODY BAIRD / Associated Press Writer MEMPHIS — The sister of John Ford won a special election Thursday to succeed the former state senator, who resigned in May after his indictment on federal bribery and extortion charges. But Ophelia Ford’s razor-thin margin of victory — 12 votes — prompted her opponent to immediately say…

By GINA HOLLAND / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice nominee John Roberts could not be pinned down this week on subjects like abortion and assisted suicide. Next month might be another story. The Supreme Court’s fall agenda is loaded with meaty issues that, to the consternation of Senate Democrats, Roberts would not…

By TOM RAUM / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON — The era of big government is back. President Bush is presiding over the most expensive government relief and reconstruction operation in U.S. history, casting aside budget discipline. Bush and his Republican allies in Congress are deferring — for now — vows to finish the Reagan revolution…