Author: Melinda Deslatte
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Flights resume, some power restored in New Orleans after Ida
NEW ORLEANS • Commercial flights resumed in New Orleans and power returned to parts of the business district Thursday, four days after Hurricane Ida slammed into the Gulf Coast, but electricity, drinking water and fuel remained scarce across much of a sweltering Louisiana. Meanwhile, the remnants of the system walloped parts of the Northeast, dumping…
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After Ida, small recovery signs amid daunting destruction
NEW ORLEANS • Lights came back on for a fortunate few, some corner stores opened their doors and crews cleared fallen trees and debris from a growing number of roadways Wednesday — small signs of progress amid the monumental task of repairing the damage inflicted by Hurricane Ida. Still, suffering remained widespread three days after…
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Laura gains strength, could bring ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge
DELCAMBRE, La. • Laura strengthened Wednesday into a menacing Category 4 hurricane, raising fears of a 20-foot storm surge that forecasters said would be “unsurvivable” and capable of sinking entire communities. Ocean water topped by white-capped waves began rising ominously as the monster neared land. Authorities implored coastal residents of Texas and Louisiana to evacuate…
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Authorities say deputy’s son behind fires at black churches
OPELOUSAS, La. • The suspect in a string of fires that destroyed three black churches in rural Louisiana is the white son of a sheriff’s deputy whose father helped arrange for his arrest, authorities said Thursday. Holden Matthews, 21, faces arson charges in the connection with the blazes in and around Opelousas, a city of…
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Colorado company won’t sue Louisiana over voided voting machine deal
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — The Colorado company whose multimillion-dollar contract award to replace Louisiana’s voting machines was scrapped said Wednesday it won’t sue over the cancellation. But the avoidance of litigation won’t immediately restart the state’s stalled work to update its decade-old voting system. Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration voided the contract deal with Denver-based…
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US Gulf Coast braces for fast-approaching Hurricane Nate
NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Nate raced swiftly over the central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, gaining added strength as forecasters said it would smash into the U.S. Gulf Coast in coming nighttime hours. Louisiana’s governor urged his state’s residents to take Nate seriously even before New Orleans and much of his state’s fragile coast was…
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In flooded Louisiana, a cleanup and a search for bodies
BATON ROUGE, La. — Authorities went door to door and car to car to check for bodies Tuesday, and homeowners began the heartbreaking task of gathering up soaked family photos and mucking out houses dank with bayou mud, as the floodwaters started to recede across parts of southern Louisiana. Even as the water fell in…
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7,000 rescued as storms, flooding wreak havoc on Louisiana
BATON ROUGE, La. — Emergency crews worked through the night to rescue scores of south Louisiana residents from homes and stranded cars as deadly flooding continued to inundate large swaths of the region Sunday, three days after rain-swollen water levels began rapidly rising. Mike Steele, spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency…
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Police: Gunman who killed 3 was ‘seeking out’ officers
BATON ROUGE, La. — A former Marine dressed in black and carrying extra ammunition set out to ambush police in Baton Rouge, authorities said Monday, a day after three law enforcement officers were killed in the attack. The gunman’s “movements, his direction, his attention was on police officers,” state police Col. Mike Edmonson said. He…
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Feds open civil rights investigation in Louisiana shooting
BATON ROUGE, La. — In a swift move by authorities to keep tensions from boiling over, the U.S. Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation Wednesday into the video-recorded killing of a black man who was shot as he scuffled with two white police officers on the pavement outside a convenience store. A law enforcement…