IRENE charged into New England yesterday as it weakened to a tropical storm after racing across New York city leaving the East Coast stunned, with at least 16 dead, widespread flooding and power outages for four million homes and businesses.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell today said he will ask Amish elders if they want state police protection from a Kansas church group that plans to demonstrate at funerals of five girls fatally shot in an attack on their one-room schoolhouse.

George W Bush has demanded that the Taliban turn over to the United States all the leaders of Osama's bin Laden's network "who hide in your land".