NOAA's Ark Too Little, Too Late

Congress will investigate why NOAA didn't warn nations around the Indian Ocean that this weekend's deadly tsunami was headed their way. NOAA -- the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration detected the wave on Christmas day -- but only sent warnings to Australia and Indonesia. Since the wave took two hours or more to reach some countries, the early warning could have saved thousands of lives in nine other nations. NOAA's home page says the agency acted quickly, but mentions only warnings to US territories and states -- which it says were in no danger. (Boston Globe)