In the wonderful short One Week, Buster and his wife are dragging their new house across a railroad track (it's a long story).

BBC: NEWS | UK | Magazine | What happened to slapstick?

It's a long story, but basically before the African National Congress (ANC) came to power in 1994 they did a deal with big business.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Scotland | Revisiting a changed South Africa

Giuliani has been a popular mayor, and it's difficult to say whether the story will make a brief splash or last long enough to have any impact on his re-election.

CNN: Navigation

For those concerned about carbon emissions, that's half way to a good news story, as gas-burning is less dirty than coal, but it's still a long way short of good for the environment.

BBC: Energy bills, and loose change

As with Katrina, there is a back story for government's dysfunction: It's a long saga involving the fervent renunciation of the idea of financial regulation, bought-and-paid-for tax favors, confusion about how globalization affects money markets, a general ignorance about the modern financial world and a stunning lack of common sense.

NPR: Katrina's Unlearned Lessons Leave Financial Mess