Haiti earthquake: Friday news updates

Look here for news updates on the aftermath of a 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti. All times are Haiti local time, which is the same as Eastern Standard Time in the U.S. and five hours behind GMT.

Check out the 5:59 pm update for Thursday...."5:59 p.m. -- The Senate unanimously passed legislation Thursday that will allow taxpayers to deduct cash donations to Haiti earthquake relief on their 2009 tax returns instead of having to wait to file the claims next year." And don't forget tonight's telethon to raise funds for Haiti, although it sounds like you'll be hard pressed to ignore it if that was your intention.

It's the Opinion Please? redux

remember my last post when I asked for help making a sentence work? I got two very good (and surprisingly similar) options for fixing my horrible sentence from moony_blues and shaxberd

Below is what I actually ended up with. ( Thoughts? )

Haiti to End Search for Quake Survivors

By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—The Haitian government prepared Friday to call off the search for survivors of last week's killer earthquake.

The Haitians were expected to make the announcement at midday, Joe Knerr, of the Fairfax County, Va., Search and Rescue Team, told his unit during their morning briefing at the U.S. Embassy. Haitian government officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Searchers have dug more than 121 people out of the rubble since the Jan. 12 earthquake, but the chances of finding more fall every day, rescue experts say. To survive this long would require a miraculous combination of available water and minor injuries, they say.

( "There is still hope–it's very minute..." )

Hope for Haiti

if you are home and reading this and are somehow missing the Hope for Haiti telethon, turn to...oh one of about 2 dozen channels that are showing it. There are star studded performances (so far Alicia Keys and Coldplay), famous folks answering the phones, and a number of ways to donate.

Personally it's freaking breaking my heart, but don't let my personal issues stop you. Oddly enough, I plan on interspersing my HfHN watching with Pitch Black to make me feel better.