RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) - Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. said Thursday that its first-quarter profit rose almost 4 percent as higher prices and cost-cutting helped offset declines in cigarette volumes. The owner of the biggest U.S. cigarette maker reported net income of $973 million, or 48 cents per share, for... more »
BOSSIER CITY, La. (AP) - A 37-year-old Nevada woman was arrested and police in Bossier City, La., police seized more than $40,000 in cash and around $250,000 in jewelry found in her car. Police say Michelle Kaye Bennett of Henderson, Nevada, became disorderly following a Saturday night traffic stop for... more »
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Layoffs are on the way at a Mississippi Gulf Coast casino and at a shipyard. Northrop Grumman on Monday confirmed a WLOX television report that it laid off 76 workers on Friday. A company statement issued by spokesman Bill Glenn notes the cyclical nature of the... more »
NEW IBERIA, La. (AP) - Two stolen potted palm trees and an all-terrain vehicle are among stolen items recovered by Iberia Parish sheriff's deputies after a four-month rash of burglaries across the parish. Lt. Ryan Turner, spokesman for the sheriff, says that investigators have arrested four people, one of them... more »
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Five years after Hurricane Katrina floodedgo with Murray. cent of this city, the Army Corps of Engineers says billions of dollars of work has made the city much safer and many of its defenses could withstand a storm as strong as the deadly 2005 hurricane. Surprisingly,... more »
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly 1,300 prison inmates wrongly received more than $9 million in tax credits for homebuyers despite being locked up when they claimed they bought a home, a government investigator reported Wednesday. The investigator said 241 of the inmates were serving life sentences. In all, more than 14,100... more »
WASHINGTON (AP) - Volkswagen AG is recalling nearly 16,000 Routan minivans to address fire concerns involving latches on the sliding doors. The German automaker says the recall affects 2009 minivans, which are jointly developed with Chrysler LLC and built at Chrysler's Windsor, Ontario, plant. Chrysler recently announced a recall of... more »
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - State troopers and Shreveport police officers wrote more than 100 tickets during a speeding crackdown on Interstate 49. The agencies stepped up patrols on I-49 near Interstate 20 after Shreveport officers reported dangerous driving. Officers were out from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday. State troopers... more »
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A New Orleans Saints flag that Indiana's governor displayed outside his office from losing a Super Bowl bet is heading to Louisiana after it sold in an online auction for $6,852. The governor's office says Bryan Bossier Sr. of Alexandria, La., won the flag as bids in... more »