Italy's quake homeless endure cold in tents

Italy's quake homeless endure cold as they wait in tents as rush to build new homes goes on

(AP)  L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) - More than 4,000 people who survived last spring's earthquake in Italy are shivering in tents, but they say they hope to be living in new, earthquake-proof homes soon.

Snow was capping the Apennine mountains near the quake-devastated town of L'Aquila on Tuesday as the homeless tried to keep warm in tents and keep up hopes. They are waiting to be assigned soon to some of the homes whose construction is a priority of Premier Silvio Berlusconi's government.

With temperatures dipping as low as minus-5C (23F) on recent nights, authorities are offering free hotel rooms to the people still in tents. But the homeless say they need to be near jobs and schools and can't stay in distant hotels.