Former president Bill Clinton swept through deep east Texas in a bid to help his wife get her campaign for the Democratic Party’s nomination back on track.

The damage inflicted by Hurricane Rita paled in comparison to Katrina, Texas Governor Rick Perry said today – but urged evacuees to stay where they are until local officials say it’s all right to return.

Residents along the Texas and Louisiana coasts began clearing away debris today as crews worked to restore electricity to more than one million customers in four states after Hurricane Rita tore through the US Gulf Coast, causing less damage than feared.

CREWS combed suburban gardens and remote Texas woodlands for the remains of space shuttle Columbia yesterday as experts focused on a heat surge on the left side of the doomed spacecraft in the early investigation of why it disintegrated.