UPDATE: HURRICANE RELIEF

Charities have spent more than $2-billion of the money they raised to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, leaving approximately $1-billion to pay for rebuilding costs, according to a survey by The Washington Post. Among the survey’s other findings: the American Red Cross has given out 84 percent of the money it raised after Katrina and Rita; 56 percent of remaining donations are held by religious organizations; and 50 cents of each dollar was distributed in cash to victims. (See The Chronicle’s story on efforts to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina and the story on fund raising for the hurricanes).