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At least 1,836 people lost their lives in Hurricane Katrina and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. The storm is estimated to have been responsible for $81.2 billion (2005 U.S. dollars) in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. The catastrophic failure of the flood protection in New Orleans prompted immediate review of the Army Corps of Engineers, which has, by congressional mandate, sole responsibility for design and construction of the flood protection and levee systems. There was also widespread criticism of the federal, state and local governments' reaction to the storm, which resulted in an investigation by the U.S. Congress, and the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael D. Brown. Conversely, the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service were widely commended for accurate forecasts and abundant lead time.
Poe's publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian". Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move between several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845, Poe published his poem "The Raven" to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years later. He began planning to produce his own journal, The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.
Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.
Golden Gate Bridge by night looking south across the Golden Gate towards San Francisco.
- August 14: Ariane 5 rocket launches Superbird 7 and AMC-21 satellites
- August 14: US Court of Appeals upholds free licenses
- August 13: Arkansas Democratic party chairman assassinated by gunman
- August 13: Sandy Allen, world's tallest woman dies at age 53
- August 13: US to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia
- August 11: Chloroform spill forces evacuation of building at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York
- August 11: Two small planes collide in Wyoming, USA, killing three
- August 10: Soul singer Isaac Hayes dies at age 65
- August 10: American actor and comedian Bernie Mac dies at age 50
- August 10: Swimmer Michael Phelps of the U.S. wins first gold medal of 2008 Summer Olympics, breaks world record
- August 9: Fear and loathing on the campaign trail, July 2008
- August 9: Orville Moody, 1969 U.S open winner dies at age 74
- August 9: American tourist killed in Beijing
- August 8: Former US Senator John Edwards admits to extramarital affair
- August 8: Four British Airways executives charged with price fixing
- August 8: US government points to dead scientist as 'lone anthrax attacker'
- August 8: Nader chosen as the presidential nominee of the Peace and Freedom Party
- August 8: Maine resident arrested in Florida for death threats to Bush, Obama
- August 7: Bin Laden's former driver convicted of supporting terrorism
- August 7: Gunman charged with killing three in Wisconsin shooting
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Roosevelt created the New Deal to provide relief for the unemployed, recovery of the economy, and reform of the economic and banking systems. Although recovery of the economy was incomplete until almost 1940, many programs initiated continue to have instrumental roles in the nation's commerce, such as the FDIC, TVA, and the SEC. One of his most important legacies is the Social Security system.
Roosevelt won four presidential elections in a row, causing a realignment political scientists call the Fifth Party System. His aggressive use of the federal government re-energized the Democratic Party, creating a New Deal Coalition which dominated American politics until the late 1960s. He and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, remain touchstones for modern American liberalism. Conservatives vehemently fought back, but Roosevelt usually prevailed until he tried to pack the Supreme Court in 1937. Thereafter, the new Conservative coalition successfully ended New Deal expansion; during the war it closed most relief programs like the WPA and Civilian Conservation Corps, arguing unemployment had disappeared.
The city was incorporated on June 5, 1837 and named after then-President of the Republic of Texas—former General Sam Houston. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population. In the mid-twentieth century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where Mission Control Center is located.
Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and technology; only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled. It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits—attracting more than 7 million visitors a year to the Houston Museum District. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District and is one of five U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.
- ...that the Liberty ship SS George Washington Carver, (pictured) the second named for an African American, was sponsored by singer Lena Horne and constructed in 42 days from start to delivery?
- ...that Jacob Piatt Dunn in 1886 wrote the first scholarly history concerning the Indian Wars?
- ...that the Delaware at-large congressional district is the oldest congressional district in the country?
Featured articles: 2005 United States Grand Prix • African American literature • Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act • Battle of Midway • Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision • Erie, Pennsylvania • Federalist No. 10 • Manzanar • Minnesota • Music of the United States • Oklahoma • Plymouth Colony • Report of 1800 • Tulsa, Oklahoma • United States Bill of Rights • United States Constitution • United States Marine Corps • United States Secretary of Energy
Featured culture biographies: Actors and filmmakers – James T. Aubrey, Jr. • Kroger Babb • Mariah Carey • Judy Garland • Jake Gyllenhaal • Anthony Michael Hall • Katie Holmes • Angelina Jolie • Diane Keaton • Vivien Leigh • William Monahan • Austin Nichols • Aaron Sorkin • Reese Witherspoon; Arts and entertainment – Ike Altgens • George Washington Dixon • William Gibson • Robert A. Heinlein • David Helvarg • Jenna Jameson • James Joyce • Edgar Allan Poe • KaDee Strickland • Sharon Tate • Roman Vishniac; Musicians – Alice in Chains Audioslave • Frank Black • Mariah Carey • Bob Dylan • John Frusciante • Godsmack • Woody Guthrie • Bradley Joseph • Frank Klepacki • Alison Krauss • John Mayer • Megadeth • Metallica • Mandy Moore • New Radicals • Nine Inch Nails • Nirvana (band) • The Notorious B.I.G. • Leo Ornstein • Ellis Paul • Pearl Jam • Pixies • R.E.M. • Joey Santiago • Selena • Slayer • Sly & the Family Stone • The Smashing Pumpkins • Elliott Smith • Gwen Stefani • The Supremes • Tool (band) • Uncle Tupelo • "Weird Al" Yankovic • Wilco; Sports and games – Moe Berg • Tim Duncan • Bobby Eaton • Michael Jordan • Bart King • Sandy Koufax • Bob Meusel • CM Punk • Bill Russell • Jim Thorpe
Featured society biographies: Military – Daniel Boone • James Bowie • Frederick Russell Burnham • Wesley Clark • Winfield Scott Hancock • George B. McClellan • Sylvanus Morley • Edwin Taylor Pollock • Lawrence Sullivan Ross • William Tecumseh Sherman • Stephen Trigg; Politics and government – Samuel Adams • Calvin Coolidge • Gerald Ford • Barack Obama • Rosa Parks • Nancy Reagan • Ronald Reagan • Franklin D. Roosevelt • Theodore Roosevelt • Harry S. Truman; Science and academia – Norman Borlaug • Glynn Lunney • Barbara McClintock • Sylvanus Morley • Roman Vishniac
Featured lists: Most populous counties in the United States • U.S. state name etymologies • U.S. states by population
Featured portals: Illinois • Indiana • Louisville • Oklahoma • Oregon • Puerto Rico • Texas (Houston) • Utah • Military of the United States
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These two weeks, United States is the US Collaboration of the Week. (Shortcut: WP:USCOTW +/-) |
See also:
- Wikipedia:U.S. Wikipedians' notice board
- Wikipedia:U.S. Wikipedians' notice board/to do
- Wikipedia:U.S. Northern Wikipedians' notice board
- Wikipedia:U.S. Southern wikipedians' notice board
- U.S. military history task force