KATC.com

Tagged News

• Citizens settlement OK'd over Katrina, Rita claims

  January 31, 2013 3:36 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on Wednesday finalized a $20 million settlement related to claims handled after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, wrapping up one of two remaining storm-related settlements that have weighed on the company. Orleans Parish Civil District Judge Kern Reese approved the settlement, closing... more »

• Teacher-plaintiff in Katrina suit dead at 61

  October 25, 2012 7:13 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A teacher who became a lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit over the firing of thousands of New Orleans school employees after Hurricane Katrina has died. Gwendolyn Ridgley died last week at age 61, according to her lawyer. A state judge in New Orleans agreed earlier... more »

• Katrina victims take on hurricane tour operators

  October 4, 2012 7:48 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Some New Orleans residents and elected officials are pushing back against tour operators who send out-of-towners into the city's Lower 9th Ward, where Hurricane Katrina unleashed a wall of water that pushed homes off foundations and stranded residents on rooftops when the levees failed. The devastation... more »

• Guilty plea in Katrina home repair case

  August 1, 2012 5:02 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A contractor has pleaded guilty in federal court in a plot to steal federal grant funds earmarked for a Hurricane Katrina home repair program operated by a New Orleans city agency. Richard Hall of Harvey pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal conspiracy count, along with a... more »

• La. taking applications for Katrina loan program

  July 19, 2012 7:15 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The state of Louisiana is accepting applications for a program offering low-interest loans of up to $5 million to businesses affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The state Office of Community Development said in a statement Wednesday that the loans are designed to... more »

• $9.2M in FEMA grants for Katrina recovery

  May 25, 2012 6:19 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing another $9.2 million to help southeast Louisiana recover from Hurricane Katrina. St. Bernard Parish is getting back $1.4 million spent to demolish and remove thousands of houses that couldn't be repaired after the 2005 storm. The largest grants are... more »

• Cops face decades in prison for Katrina shootings

  April 4, 2012 9:47 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A case that became the centerpiece of the Justice Department's push to clean up the troubled New Orleans Police Department draws to a close Wednesday, as a federal judge sentences five former police officers for their roles in deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a bridge... more »

• Joplin tornado survivors seek lessons from Katrina

  March 1, 2012 7:41 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A group of community leaders from the tornado-ravaged town of Joplin, Mo., is seeking disaster-recovery lessons from their Louisiana counterparts who lived through Hurricane Katrina more than six years ago. A busload of two dozen bank executives, hospital administrators and church workers rode through the night... more »

• Sentencing postponed in Katrina shooting case

  February 29, 2012 10:30 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal judge has postponed a sentencing hearing for a New Orleans police officer convicted of lying about the aftermath of a deadly shooting outside the city's convention center following Hurricane Katrina. Ronald Mitchell was scheduled to be sentenced March 7, but U.S. District Judge Sarah... more »

• Woman sentenced for fraud after Katrina

  January 27, 2012 9:40 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A 37-year-old New Orleans woman has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for mail fraud and identity theft committed after Hurricane Katrina. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office said Thursday that Shantell Moses was also ordered to pay $16,915 in restitution to the American Red... more »

• 2nd trial opens over deadly Katrina shootings

  January 23, 2012 9:52 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal trial opens this week for a retired New Orleans police sergeant charged with helping cover up deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for Gerard Dugue, who allegedly submitted a false... more »

• Katrina-Flood Lawsuit,130 Case against Army Corps to be Heard in Court

  December 12, 2011 11:48 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A lawsuit alleging the Army Corps of Engineers ruined property in St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9th Ward after it built a shipping channel that turned into a conduit for storm surge during Hurricane Katrina is to be heard in court this week. A trial... more »

• Ft. Polk trains on response to potential disasters at home Play Video

  December 9, 2011 9:40 PM

  "You can't help a hurricane coming but afterwards, yes, I think we could help a lot." That's what SSG. David Brunet of Houma had to say about the army's newest mission at Ft. Polk. For the first time, the army is training to respond to disasters at home. Imagine... more »

• Chalmette man pleads guilty in Katrina fraud case

  October 7, 2011 6:48 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A 40-year-old Chalmette man has pleaded guilty to federal charges of theft of government funds in a case involving Louisiana's Road Home program. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten says Ivan Alfonso entered the plea Thursday before U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk. Letten's office says Alfonso applied... more »

• New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward: 6 Years After Katrina

  August 30, 2011 2:39 AM

  Monday marked a somber anniversary in Louisiana; the day Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. "Six years ago today, we were actually floating on the roof of our house," said Robert Green, a resident of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. Hurricane Katrina not only swept away Green's... more »

• 6 Years After Katrina, Lower 9th Ward Still Bleak

  August 28, 2011 12:03 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - In New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, the grasses grow taller than people and street after street is scarred by empty decaying houses, the lives that once played out inside their walls hardly imaginable now. St. Claude Avenue, the once moderately busy commercial thoroughfare, looks like the... more »

• Man pleads guilty in Katrina insurance fraud case

  July 22, 2011 6:22 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A 52-year-old Raceland man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of wire fraud linked to unemployment insurance debit cards he fraudulently obtained and used during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten says Charles Shields entered the plea Thursday before U.S. District Judge... more »

• N.O. man pleads guilty to Katrina loan fraud

  July 21, 2011 8:59 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A New Orleans man has pleaded guilty to fraudulently receiving a disaster loan worth more than $100,000 after Hurricane Katrina. Federal prosecutors say 46-year-old Torrance Green submitted false documentation to the Small Business Administration in his application for a loan for his real estate business following... more »

• Testimony resumes in Katrina police shooting trial

  July 7, 2011 6:00 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A former New Orleans police officer who pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up of deadly police shootings on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina is due back on the witness stand for more questioning by defense attorneys. Michael Hunter's cross-examination by attorneys for five current or... more »

• Prosecutors Challenge New Trial for EX-NO Cop

  June 4, 2011 11:02 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Federal prosecutors are appealing a judge's decision to order a new trial for a former New Orleans police officer convicted of writing a false report on a deadly police shooting after Hurricane Katrina. A notice of appeal filed Friday by U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office says... more »

• Corps Completes Levees Around St. Bernard Parish

  June 4, 2011 10:51 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Army Corps of Engineers says St. Bernard Parish - the parish southeast of New Orleans swamped by Katrina - has the best levee system its ever had. On Friday, the corps said an 8.5-mile-long floodwall between Verret and Caernarvon was done. It was the last... more »

• Wanted: Enduring, Iconic, Artistic Evacuation Art

  March 27, 2011 11:29 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Getting the word out to about 30,000 of New Orleans' most vulnerable residents on how and where to catch a free ride out of town when a hurricane approaches already involves radio, television and newspapers. Soon, it may involve art too. Evacuteer.org, a volunteer group that... more »

• Suit seeks to halt New Orleans levee work

  January 11, 2011 8:43 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A lawsuit is threatening to slow down or even halt work to strengthen a canal that broke catastrophically during Hurricane Katrina. Homeowners with backyards along the 17th Street Canal filed a civil suit in state court on Jan. 5 to stop the work because they claim... more »

• Feds clear BR police of post-Katrina misconduct

  January 4, 2011 9:27 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department has cleared Baton Rouge police officers who were accused of harassing African-Americans, using unnecessary violence and conducting illegal searches after Hurricane Katrina. The move, reported by WAFB-TV on Tuesday, was confirmed by the current and former Baton Rouge police chiefs. "After... more »

• New Orleans moves to get rid of last FEMA trailers

  December 30, 2010 9:23 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The era of the FEMA trailer - a symbol of the prolonged rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina - might be drawing to a close in New Orleans. Citing the remaining 221 trailers as blight, New Orleans officials have told the last remaining residents to be out by... more »

• Bridge blockade claims thrown out

  December 28, 2010 9:24 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal judge has thrown out the remaining claims in a lawsuit that said police violated people's constitutional rights by firing warning shots to stop them from crossing a bridge to escape flooding from Hurricane Katrina. Having dismissed about 90 percent of the claims in September,... more »

• Katrina shooting victim's skull still missing

  December 13, 2010 8:17 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Rebecca Glover said her family could not have been more horrified by what happened to her nephew: He was shot by police days after Hurricane Katrina hit, then left to die in a car that a police officer drove to a deserted levee and set ablaze.... more »

• Corps to Strengthen New Orleans Flood-Walls

  December 11, 2010 9:34 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Army Corps of Engineers has hired two small companies to strengthen flood-walls along drainage canals that broke during Hurricane Katrina. The corps wants to make the flood-walls stronger by driving new sheet pile and adding embankment at the crown of the levees along the canals.... more »

• Jury convicts 3 officers in post-Katrina death

  December 9, 2010 9:46 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal jury on Thursday convicted three current or former New Orleans police officers but acquitted two others in the death of a man during Hurricane Katrina's chaotic aftermath. The jury of seven women and five men on convicted former officer David Warren of manslaughter in... more »

• Deliberations continue in Katrina police shooting

  December 8, 2010 9:43 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A jury has deliberated for a second day without reaching a verdict in the trial of five current and former New Orleans police officers charged in the death of a man who was fatally shot and his body burned after Hurricane Katrina. Jurors are expected to... more »

• N.O. cop who admitted lying to grand jury retires

  December 6, 2010 9:38 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A New Orleans police sergeant who admitted lying to the grand jury probing a deadly police shooting after Hurricane Katrina has retired from the department. Cmdr. Bob Young says Sgt. Purnella Simmons - a 29-year veteran - retired Monday, but no reason was given for her... more »

• N.O. officer says he burned body after Katrina

  November 29, 2010 9:43 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A New Orleans police officer on trial for burning the body of a man who was fatally shot by a different officer testified Monday that he set the fire because he didn't want to let another corpse rot in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. "I was exposed to... more »

• Witness: Cop said looters 'deserved to be shot'

  November 12, 2010 9:41 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A former New Orleans police officer on trial for gunning down a man outside a strip mall in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath said after the shooting that looters are "animals" who "deserved to be shot," a fellow officer testified Friday. The former officer, David Warren, is charged... more »

• FEMA Awards $21 Million in Projects For Louisiana

  October 26, 2010 3:26 PM

  The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today more than $21.8 million for 12 recovery projects in Louisiana. These federal dollars include the funding for the reconstruction, repair or content replacement for damages associated with hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The 12 projects include: · Facility Planning and Control, State of... more »

• Jury awards tourists $650K in Katrina jail lawsuit

  October 14, 2010 9:42 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal jury on Thursday awarded more than $650,000 to two Ohio tourists who were arrested in New Orleans on public drunkenness charges two days before Hurricane Katrina and jailed for more than a month in the storm's chaotic aftermath. The jury unanimously concluded that Orleans... more »

• No allergy spike from Katrina mold

  October 8, 2010 10:10 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A new study finds the mold that pervaded New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina didn't lead to a general increase in mold allergies. Tulane University researchers examined 529 patients who got a skin test for mold sensitivity at Ochsner Health System between December 2005 and December 2008.... more »

• Church destroyed by Katrina to be Rebuilt

  October 4, 2010 6:32 AM

  SLIDELL, La. (AP) - Five years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed St. Genevieve Catholic Church near Slidell, construction will soon begin on a new church. Church officials say the edifice will take the shape of a cruciform and measure nearly 12,000 square feet. It will have space for more than 500... more »

• Feeding Stranded Residents and First Responders During Katrina Leads to Chef's New Ready-To-Eat Meals

  September 29, 2010 3:24 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Chef John Besh's two restaurants were spared when Hurricane Katrina barreled through New Orleans five years ago, but the storm almost wiped him out anyway. Besh had just taken out a large loan to pay off his partners when the storm shut him down and sent... more »

• No bond for officers in Katrina police shootings

  September 23, 2010 9:47 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A magistrate has rejected another bid to set bond for four current or former New Orleans police officers charged in deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a bridge in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Defense attorneys on Thursday asked U.S. Magistrate Louis Moore Jr. to free their clients... more »

• Contractor Not Immune From Liability For Failed Floodwall During Hurricane Katrina

  September 15, 2010 11:10 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal appeals court has ruled that a government contractor isn't immune from liability for its work on a New Orleans floodwall and levee system that failed during Hurricane Katrina. Tuesday's ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revives claims against Washington Group International... more »

• More than 1,300 Charged with Hurricane Fraud

  September 15, 2010 10:00 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - More than 1,300 people have been charged in federal fraud cases related to the 2005 hurricanes in the five years since the storms struck the Gulf Coast, the Justice Department said Tuesday. A report released by the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force says investigators have screened... more »

• Katrina Victims Homes Destroyed by Fire on 5th Anniversary

  August 30, 2010 11:58 AM

  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Some displaced Katrina victims from New Orleans lost their homes again in an apartment complex fire in Austin on the fifth anniversary of the hurricane. Authorities say at least half a dozen people were injured during the blaze Sunday. The cause of the fire, which damaged... more »

• Obama Set to Commemorate Katrina Anniversary

  August 29, 2010 12:43 PM

  VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) - President Barack Obama is aiming to underscore his commitment to a region weary of calamity as he travels to New Orleans on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Obama ends his Martha's Vineyard vacation Sunday and heads to the Gulf, five years to the day... more »

• Memories of Chaos, Rebirth 5 Years After Katrina

  August 29, 2010 12:31 PM

  SHELL BEACH, La. (AP) - Two strangers shared an umbrella and a somber embrace Sunday as they scanned 163 names on a marble wall honoring thoCONwho died in Louisiana's coastal St. Bernard Parish when Hurricane Katrina wracked the region. Gladys Nunez and Linda Wells didn't know each other before a... more »

• Priest Among Missing 5 Years After Katrina

  August 28, 2010 3:20 PM

  LAKE CATHERINE, La. (AP) - The night sky heaved like a living thing as Fire Chief Joe Perez took another slow cruise in the rescue truck down the two-lane road snaking across this town in the last patch of marsh standing between New Orleans and an angry Gulf of Mexico.... more »

• Feds probing post-Katrina 'shoot looters' claim

  August 27, 2010 9:55 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Federal authorities are investigating allegations that New Orleans police were told after Hurricane Katrina to "take the city back and shoot the looters." Police spokesman Bob Young said Friday that federal officials have asked police for information and for permission to interview officers about the alleged... more »

• "Shoot The Looters" Investigation

  August 27, 2010 2:57 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Allegations that New Orleans police were told after Hurricane Katrina to "take the city back and shoot the looters," are being investigated by federal authorities. Although FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorn refused to comment on the investigation, police spokesman Bob Young said on Friday that police have... more »

• Obama Headed to Gulf Coast

  August 27, 2010 2:57 PM

  VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) - President Barack Obama will head to New Orleans following his Marthas' Vineyard vacation to reaffirm his commitment to the Gulf Coast. He'll arrive Sunday, five years to the day from when Hurricane Katrina raged ashore. The storm flooded 80 percent of the city, killing more... more »

• Nagin, Brown Says US Not Ready for Another Disaster

  August 27, 2010 11:31 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Five years after Hurricane Katrina, former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and former FEMA chief Michael Brown agree that the country is not prepared for another major disaster. Speaking Friday on NBC's "Today" show, both said not enough changes have been made since the 2005 storm... more »

• 2 Million Katrina Volunteers

  August 27, 2010 11:24 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - From celebrities to everyday people, more than 2 million volunteers are estimated to have poured into Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005. They rebuilt houses, fed families, provided medical care, hauled debris and created playgrounds. And they helped give the devastated... more »

• 22 new Katrina fraud charges announced

  August 26, 2010 9:30 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - With the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina a few days away, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten announced the latest round of fraud cases arising from the storm. Letten outlined charges Thursday against 22 people accused of bilking government agenciquaor aid programs out of amounts ranging from $2,000... more »

• Lessons Learned From Katrina

  August 26, 2010 4:09 PM

  CHALMETTE, La. (AP) - The head of FEMA tells a congressional panel that the agency learned from Hurricane Katrina to be more flexible in reviewing and approving federal funding for storm repair and rebuilding projects. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate on Thursday told a panel led by U.S.... more »

• Governor Jindal and Mayor Mitch Landrieu Announce Commitment of $30 Million in CDBG Funds to Clinics

  August 26, 2010 2:41 PM

  Governor Jindal and Mayor Mitch Landrieu Announce Commitment of $30 Million in CDBG Funds to Clinics BATON ROUGE - Governor Bobby Jindal and Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced today that the state has committed $30 million in Community Development Block Grant funds to ensure that a network of primary care and... more »

• Newseum in Washington is Opening an Exhibit on How Katrina was Reported

  August 24, 2010 4:55 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Five years after Hurricane Katrina bore down on the Gulf Coast, the Newseum in Washington is opening a special one-year exhibit on how the disaster was reported. The museum about news and the First Amendment also has produced a film featuring reflections from journalists. Two newspapers shared... more »

• Katrina-Destroyed Live Oaks Replaced

  August 21, 2010 4:16 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A group created to replant live oaks - and extend their reach - along New Orleans' main streetcar line after Hurricane Katrina says it has completed the work, with 250 trees along St. Charles Ave. Organizers say the $280,000 project - all from private donations -... more »

• Oil Spill Adds to Housing Woes for Katrina Victims

  August 21, 2010 4:08 PM

  LAKESHORE, Miss. (AP) - Pete Yarborough, a trucker who hauled seafood until the BP oil spill hit, and about 800 other households are under pressure to buy or get out of the state-owned cottages they've been living in since Hurricane Katrina left them homeless. Yarborough's 400-square-foot cottage sits on cinder... more »

• New not guilty pleas in post-Katrina case

  August 19, 2010 9:24 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Five current and former New Orleans police officers have pleaded not guilty to a new indictment by a federal grand jury earlier this month. The Times-Picayune reports the officers entered their new pleas on Thursday. The new indictment altered only one charge against former officer David... more »

• Report of Agencies to Repay Loan Money From Katrina

  August 19, 2010 4:02 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - About 61 percent of the $822 million in federal funds borrowed by storm-wrecked communities after hurricanes Katrina and Rita won't have to be repaid. But that leaves more than $296 million owed to the federal government. Financially struggling sheriffs, school boards, parish councils and other... more »

• $275 Million Renovation on Familiar Symbol of Hurricane Katrina

  August 18, 2010 4:16 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Renovation work has begun on the Hyatt Regency New Orleans - the hotel that became a familiar symbol of Hurricane Katrina's destruction when shattered glass poured onto streets and furniture was sucked out of broken windows. The $275 million project is aimed at a fall 2011... more »

• Deadline Extended for Death Penalty Decision

  August 18, 2010 5:18 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) A federal judge has extended a deadline for the Justice Department to decide whether to seek the death penalty against four current or former New Orleans police officers charged in deadly shootings on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina. At the request of defense attorneys, U.S. District... more »

• Obama To Travel to NOLA for 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

  August 13, 2010 12:18 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans on Aug. 29. The White House says Obama will speak at Xavier University. Other administration officials who have worked on Katrina recovery efforts will also be in the region to mark the anniversary.... more »

• Mississippi man enters plea in post-Katrina attack

  August 12, 2010 9:38 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Mississippi man who federal prosecutors say fired a shotgun at three black men in a racially motivated attack following Hurricane Katrina pleaded not guilty Thursday to all five counts he faces. Roland Bourgeois Jr., 47, who is white, from Columbia, Miss., is charged with firing... more »

• Death Penalty Not Intended in Katrina Fatal Shooting Case

  August 6, 2010 1:50 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Justice Department doesn't intend to seek the death penalty against a former New Orleans police officer charged with fatally shooting a man in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. A court filing Thursday discloses that decision in the case against David Warren, who allegedly shot and killed 31-year-old... more »

• Launch to put Katrina Levee Breaches on National Register of Historic Places

  August 4, 2010 1:31 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A New Orleans organization has launced an effort to have two spots where levees failed during Hurricane Katrina placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Levees.org announced the effort at a news conference Wednesday in the Lower 9th Ward, where many of Katrina's more than... more »

• St. Tammany Parish's Last Hurricane Katrina Mission

  July 30, 2010 12:18 PM

  COVINGTON, La. (AP) - St. Tammany Parish says it is creating what it calls one of the most comprehensive websites there is about Hurricane Katrina for the fifth anniversary of the storm. A news release says officials hope it will be the parish's last Hurricane Katrina mission. The site -... more »

• 3 Officers Plead Not Guilty in Katrina Shootings

  July 14, 2010 8:08 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Three police officers charged in the killing of two unarmed residents on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina and a cover-up that followed pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. Sgts. Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen and Officer Anthony Villavaso stood before a federal magistrate in green... more »

• Cops Could Face Death in Post-Katrina Shootings

  July 14, 2010 6:45 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Four New Orleans police officers could face the death penalty after being accused of gunning down two unarmed people in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the latest twist for a corruption-plagued department that already faces several federal investigations. The four officers were charged along... more »

• FEMA Trailer Auction

  July 8, 2010 6:23 PM

  One of the biggest health concerns after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was high formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers. But since then, the fear of becoming sick in the trailers has vanished with a good bargain. 300 FEMA trailers now fill the old Evangeline Downs Race Track in Carencro. Anxious... more »

• Slidell Woman Pleads Guilty to Katrina Fraud

  July 2, 2010 6:32 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Slidell woman has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining disaster aid from the American Red Cross in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Federal prosecutors said 27-year-old Sylvia Barnes submitted four applications for assistance and received $4,695 when the Red Cross limited awards to a one-time payment of up... more »

• Blanco: Says spill is "deja vu" of Katrina

  May 27, 2010 3:34 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who did not seek re-election after Hurricane Katrina, said Thursday that all levels of government - federal, state and local - have missed the mark in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. "It was so... more »

• Lacombe Man Sentenced for Fraud Linked to Katrina

  May 13, 2010 9:57 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A 53-year-old Lacombe man has been sentenced in connection with a disaster loan he and his wife applied for in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Keith Stobaugh was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation and fined $1,500 following his guilty plea to misprision of a... more »

• HBO's Post-Katrina Drama "Treme" Picked Up 2nd Season

  April 13, 2010 5:01 PM

  NEW YORK (AP) - HBO says its new drama "Treme" (truh-MAY') has been picked up for a second season just days after its series premiere. The show is set in New Orleans in fall 2005, three months after Hurricane Katrina. "Treme" tracks the lives of a diverse group of residents... more »

• Students Displaced By Katrina Gains In Texas Schools

  April 7, 2010 1:35 PM

  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Students displaced by 2005's Hurricane Katrina are making academic gains in Texas schools. The Texas Education Agency has released results of a study that tracked the progress of Katrina students. Katrina devastated coastal states in August 2005, sending more than 46,000 young evacuees from Louisiana, Mississippi,... more »

• Homes Not Elevated Following Hurricanes

  March 22, 2010 7:20 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A large number of Louisiana homeowners who got up to $30,000 to raise their homes out of the danger from floods after Hurricane Katrina have not jacked up their properties, a federal housing inspector general has found. A recent report by... more »

• Coastal Erosion

  November 24, 2009 9:05 AM

  Families first moved to the coast from France in 1770 drawn by the abundant resources and that life today continues to fish the coast. Louisiana is the nation's largest producer of shrimp, oysters and blue crab and fills a large part of the US fresh fish demand and 40 thousand... more »

• Thousands in La. eligible for storm grants

  November 17, 2009 8:54 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Thousands of Louisiana residents are eligible for grants to pay for storm shutters and other hurricane protection improvements to their homes. This week, the state is mailing out applications to more than 100,000 victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita for storm mitigation grants of up... more »

• Louisiana graduation rate falls

  October 19, 2009 8:46 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A new report says Louisiana suffered the biggest drop in its public high school graduation rate of any state in the Southern region over a five-year period. The study says 13 of 16 Southern states reviewed showed graduation gains between 2002 and 2006, a big... more »

• KATC to cover Presidential Speech at UNO

  October 15, 2009 11:31 AM

  Preparations are under way as President Barack Obama plans to speak at the UNO Rec Center today. The President will be discussing the recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina and what still needs to be done four years after the storm devastated the city and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. KATC's... more »

• President Obama makes first trip to New Orleans

  October 15, 2009 7:37 AM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama, who accused former President George W. Bush of leading a government "that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns," is hearing directly from New Orleans residents who have struggled to rebuild their city since the 2005 hurricane season. Obama arrives in... more »

• Endangered Monuments

  October 6, 2009 10:03 AM

  NEW YORK (AP) - Peru's Machu Picchu ancient ruins, Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona and a New Orleans elementary school are among the cultural heritage sites threatened by neglect or overdevelopment, a preservationist group said Tuesday. The World Monuments Fund's watch list for 2010 includes 93 sites in... more »

• FEMA Trailer Deactivation Hotline

  October 2, 2009 2:06 PM

  As Louisiana families transition from their FEMA temporary housing unit (THU) to a permanent, long term home, FEMA has an updated telephone number to assist these residents who need to have their unit deactivated. Call 1-225-389-5732. This telephone number is for FEMA temporary housing unit deactivation requests in Louisiana associated... more »

• Holly Beach update

  October 1, 2009 2:04 PM

  HOLLY BEACH, La. (AP) - Before two hurricanes hit in three years, a collection of modest beach houses and trailers along the Gulf known as the "Cajun Riviera" drew thousands for summer weekends of crabbing, beer drinking and kids playing in the surf. Now, the few-dozen families who do... more »