Midday Roundup: Tacloban's misery recalls Superdome scene

Wasted refuge. Just as in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina survivors found new misery inside New Orleans’ Superdome, thousands of Filipinos are taking refuge inside a dank sports stadium in the decimated city of Tacloban. The Tacloban City Astrodome, with its solid roof, provided shelter from Typhoon Haiyan’s winds and waves but has since become a living sewer. Refugees there lack clean water, food, and clothing and have not received any outside aid in the six days since the typhoon struck. International aid is amassing at the airport in Tacloban, but officials are having trouble distributing it throughout the city because of a lack of fuel. Residents of Tacloban held a mass burial for unidentified storm victims earlier today. The National Bureau of Investigation removed a portion of the femur from each corpse to assist in identifying the dead later.

Benghazi survivors emerge. Fox News today brought to light previously shrouded information about Americans who were injured in Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others. At least two other Americans were severely injured in the fighting that night, and one of them is expected to testify this week in classified briefings on Capitol Hill. Now more than 14 months after the attack, the State Department has released few details about Benghazi survivors. Sources told Fox News some of the testimony presented to lawmakers may differ from previously understood details of the attack, and may lead to increased calls for creation of a House Select Committee on Benghazi. Already 177 members of Congress have signed on to a bill that would create the special panel. Fox News also released a poll today showing that 65 percent of voters want lawmakers to continue investigating the Benghazi attack.

Courting Egypt. Egypt’s foreign minister clarified the country is not dumping the United States as a key ally in exchange for Russia after top diplomats from Moscow visited Cairo on Thursday. Leaders from both countries claimed the visit is merely “energizing a relation already in existence,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said. The visit comes at a time of strained relations between Egypt and the United States, which has withheld some support from the country since the military ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in July.

Sentenced. Former crime overlord James “Whitey” Bulger was sentenced to life in prison this morning for the havoc he wreaked in Boston in the 1970s and ’80s. A jury convicted Bulger in August of murder, extortion, money-laundering, and weapons charges. The case against Bulger exposed FBI corruption that helped Bulger elude justice in 1994 and go on the lam for 16 years. Bulger’s life of crime has inspired numerous books and the 2006 movie The Departed. True to his reputation as a gritty, fearless gangster, Bulger’s defense during the trial focused more on proving he never worked as an FBI informant than vindicating him for the numerous murders and other crimes of which he was accused. He remained defiant to the end, refusing to assist probation officials in preparing a sentencing report for the judge.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.