The food-stamp economy
On the last day of every month, shoppers at Walmart load their carts with food and household items and wait for the midnight hour. Is this the new normal in America? Full Article
FACTBOX: Hurricane Ike lashes Texas coast
(Reuters) - Hurricane Ike barreled into the densely populated Texas coast on Saturday, with a wall of water, ferocious winds and heavy rains.
The massive storm idled more than a fifth of U.S. oil production, shutting down 17 oil refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, the heart of the U.S. energy industry.
Here are some facts about the affected areas:
HOUSTON
* Fourth largest U.S. city with a population of 2.2 million; sixth largest U.S. metropolitan area with about 5.6 million people.
* Port of Houston on Galveston Bay is a major crude oil import entry and tenth largest world port.
* Downtown is about 50 feet above sea level.
* Administrative hub of U.S. oil industry.
* The area is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, the Mission Control Center for U.S. space shuttle flights.
* In 1961, Hurricane Carla hit a much less developed Houston as a Category 4 storm and caused more than $2 billion in damage and 43 deaths.
GALVESTON
* Population of nearly 60,000. Considered part of the Houston metropolitan area.
* Galveston Island, where the city of Galveston is located, is a barrier island on the Gulf coast, 50 miles southeast of Houston. Island averages 2 miles wide and is about 27 mile long and 20 feet above sea level at its highest point.
* Port of Galveston on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the north side of Galveston Island, handles cargo and is a passenger cruise ship terminal.
* Mandatory evacuation ordered.
* Galveston was the site of deadliest weather disaster in U.S. history, the hurricane of 1900, which brought a storm surge that covered most of the city. At least 6,000 people died.
GULF COAST PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
* The U.S. Gulf of Mexico is home to a quarter of U.S. crude oil production and 15 percent of natural gas production.
* More than a third of U.S. oil refinery capacity is located from Mississippi to Texas. The Exxon Mobil facility in Baytown, near Houston, is the largest refinery in the United States.
(Compiled by Jackie Frank, editing by Patricia Zengerle)
