Montevideo was destroyed by the immortal super-villain Vandal Savage, who had purchased nuclear-powered Rocket Red technology from Russian black marketeers, according to super-hero spokesperson Roy Harper, also known as Arsenal. "Washington was his intended target," said Harper, who was spying on Savage as part of his efforts to re-form the Titans, the super-team he had belonged to as a youth. "The Hourman Virus made the missile's targeting sustems go haywire."

This may be the reason that the super-hero community has involved itself in the relief effort to a greater degree than has ever been seen since the devastation of Metropolis by Lex Luthor. Sources reveal that the Hourman Virus, which inflicted madness on people and computers worldwide, was brought to Earth by a time-traveling superhero called Hourman, apparently part of a Justice League in his own time. (His connection, if any, to the two known former heroes named Hourman is uncertain at this time.) Justice League spokesman Steel has denied that the heroes are acting out of guilt feelings, and has maintained that they are merely fulfilling their duties to use their abilities to help others.

Whatever the reason, few would dispute that the heroes are helping. Radiation-tolerant heroes such as Firestorm and Captain Atom have been instrumental in detoxifying the area and decontaminating the region's water supply. The Flash and the mysterious Oracle have already managed to restore tele-communications to 90 percent of the area cut off by the destruction of the Montevideo hub. And, of course, no one should underestimate the impact of Superman's personal appeals to Uruguayans to get involved in rebuilding their national government. The list of candidates to replace the many government officials who were killed by the bomb includes many idealists who explicitly credit Superman with inspiring them.

Uruguay has no native super-heroes, but Beatriz DaCosta, the Brazilian heroine Fire, has pledged all the proceeds of her 1999 swimsuit calendar to the survivors of those killed in the blast, and she and the former Argentine hero, the Gaucho, have planned a goodwill tour to raise awareness of and funds for the problems caused by it.

Ms. Hayden is the daughter of the first Earthman to use the name Green Lantern and formerly used the superheroine alias Jade. While she has never used a ring before, she has had ample experience weilding green energy as a member of the Los Angeles-based superteam Infinity, Inc. However, she recently lost the ability to generate the energy from within herself. "Receiving the ring is like breathing air again after having been buried underground," she told reporters. "It's extremely difficult to get used to life without the power when you've lived with it for so long. I'm extremely grateful to Green Lantern for giving me this opportunity."

Ms. Hayden is believed to be the first Earthwoman to act as Green Lantern. In addition to her immediate predecessor, other Earth Lanterns were her father, Alan Scott, the late Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner, who now goes by the name Warrior. Several alien females have operated on Earth as Green Lanterns, notably Stewart's late wife Katma Tui of Korugar and Arisia of Graxos.

Asked if she intended to continue in her entertainment career while acting as Green Lantern, she replied in the affirmative. "Your life doesn't stop when you become a super-hero. It just receives another added dimension. Remember, I've been super-hero already." She also indicated that her uniform would be the traditional one used by Hal Jordan, but that she would leave off the mask. "I don't need a mask, since my identity is public, and I have no intention of replicating the fashion disaster that my predecessor, despite all his good points, perpetrated. Lord." She did, however, decline to comment on rumors linking her romantically to the absent Lantern.

Cape Town, South Africa - Noted archaeologist Professor Adam Strange, who has not been seen on Earth for over four years, will once again be traveling the world, delivering lectures on deductive logic and analytical thinking. His popular lectures, based on what he claims are true adventures he had on the planet Rann, always end in a challenge for the audience to figure out the solution to the dilemma posed in the session. Americans will be disappointed, though, as he has only booked lectures in the Southern hemisphere, from where, he claims, his return trips to Rann pick him up. All proceeds from any South American lectures will be donated directly to the Uruguayan restoration fund which is maintained by the Justice League, whom he credits with his return to Earth after having stayed on Rann for years.