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Coast Guard admiral to lead relief effort

Beleaguered FEMA chief Michael Brown sent home

Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, left, and Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen brief the media in Baton Rouge.

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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (CNN) -- Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown was replaced Friday as the man in charge of the Hurricane Katrina federal relief effort.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff named Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen to replace Brown.

Allen had been directing efforts in New Orleans as Brown's acting assistant. Chertoff said he informed Allen Friday morning that he would take over the entire FEMA mission in the region. (Watch report on administration's recall of 'Brownie' -- 1:25)

Brown, under fire over his qualifications and what critics call a bungled response to Katrina, will return to his duties in Washington as overall FEMA chief, Chertoff said. (Full story)

"Admiral Allen has my full support in the very difficult work we have ahead," Chertoff said. The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security, as is FEMA. (Watch Chertoff announce FEMA changes -- 8:26)

A senior administration official said President Bush approved Chertoff's decision.

Brown's reassignment came amid questions raised in Time magazine Friday about whether his resume was padded to overstate his experience in emergency management. A FEMA official quoted in the report said Brown believes the article is inaccurate. (Time article)

Brown told The Associated Press on Friday that he failed to see why was recalled to Washington, and he angrily denied that he padded his online resume.

"I'm anxious to get back to D.C. to correct all the inaccuracies and lies," Brown told the AP.

Allen takes over a relief effort that has been criticized from the early days of the crisis, and the admiral spoke matter-of-factly as he and Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore met with reporters. (Allen profile)

"When we are through with this press availability, I'm going to hold a meeting with everyone in this building," Allen said. "We'll have an open and frank conversation, and we'll move out."

Allen said FEMA's primary mission is to save lives, provide food, water and shelter and increase communications.

He promised to work closely with Honore, the tough-talking, three-star general who commands the military relief and recovery effort in the region.

"There is no gap between us," Allen said. "We are a unified effort." (Watch Allen and Brown discuss the relief and recovery efforts -- 16:10)

Meanwhile, Louisiana Homeland Security chief Terry Ebbert said an initial sweep of the city showed far fewer people may have died than feared.

"The numbers so far are relatively minor as compared to the dire predictions of 10,000," Ebbert said.

So far, the official death toll for the storm is 337, including 204 fatalities in Mississippi and 118 in Louisiana.

Mayors bemoan lack of help

The mayor of Dallas lambasted FEMA and the state of Texas on Friday, saying her city has received no resources from other governments to help deal with the influx of thousands of evacuees.

"Where is FEMA -- national -- and where is the state of Texas? We keep being told the help is coming, and so far we haven't gotten the help," Mayor Laura Miller told reporters.

She stood alongside New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who previously has excoriated federal officials for their response to the catastrophe.

"Let's do what it takes to bust through the bureaucracy of the federal government and the state government," Nagin said. "And let's make sure that these people who are traumatized are better taken care of."

Nagin said the federal government wants to help, but the challenge is too big for one person or agency.

"This is a system problem," he said.

About 15,500 evacuees who had been staying in the Dallas Convention Center and Reunion Arena have been moved into apartments or other stable living conditions, but a total of about 1,500 people remain at the two sites.

The mayors announced a campaign to raise $3 million to help the people still in shelters, whom Miller described as working people who were not on government subsidies in Louisiana.

Louisiana Guard troops back from Iraq

One hundred Louisiana National Guard members who have been serving in Iraq arrived Friday in Alexandria, Louisiana, to take part in the relief efforts and to help their families cope with the disaster. (Full story)

"We're back home now. It's time to take care of business," one soldier said, holding his wife's hand and surrounded by his three children.

The soldiers from the 256th Brigade Combat Team have spent the past year patrolling near the Baghdad International Airport -- one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq. Thirty-five have died in Iraq.

Of the 3,000 soldiers from the unit who were serving in Iraq, 400 to 500 have lost their homes or their families have been displaced as a result of the storm.

Other developments

New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass on Friday rejected what he called "vicious rumors" that bodies of children were found in one of the gathering points for evacuees. "We have swept the entire convention center," he said, and no children were found dead. Also, he said, there were "no confirmed reports of any type of sexual assault." (Watch one doctor recount his convention center experience -- 3:39)

Some evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, received government-issued debit cards worth $2,000 Friday, the AP reported. The cards can be used to get cash from ATMs and 7,000 people had signed up for the cards, according to the AP. The program will be phased out after the Astrodome evacuees receive their cards, a FEMA spokesman told CNN on Thursday.

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's consulting firm has been hired by Entergy New Orleans, which provides power to most of the city, the utility company said Friday.

Hurricane victims who receive Social Security benefits can go to any permanent or temporary location and receive an on-the-spot payment, Social Security Administrator Jo Anne Barnhart said Friday. So far, 25,000 checks have been issued, she said. There are more than 780,000 people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama who receive Social Security benefits or supplemental payments.

CNN has obtained a restraining order to prevent emergency officials in the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone from keeping the media from covering the recovery of bodies. CNN filed suit Friday in U.S. District Court in Houston. A hearing has been scheduled for Saturday morning.

CNN's Mike Ahlers, Dana Bash, Ed Lavandera and Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report.

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