Louisiana

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New Orleans Population Shrinks 29%
New Orleans Population Shrinks 29%

New Orleans Population Shrinks 29%

Post-Katrina drop higher than expected

(Newser) - New Orleans' population has far from rebounded from Hurricane Katrina and it's now a much smaller city that it was a decade ago, according to newly released data from the 2010 census. The city's population now stands at 343,829, down 29% from 2000. The black population has shrunk at...

Bath Salts: More Perilous Than Meth?

Addicts are struggling to get clean

(Newser) - Ivory Wave, Red Dove, Vanilla Sky—the names sound more tranquil than menacing, but authorities are calling them the latest in drugs as dangerous as crystal meth. They're bath salts, and can be bought legally in stores, but they contain mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, which can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart...

Now There Are Dead Birds in Louisiana, Too

Five hundred found on highway

(Newser) - Okay, this is just getting creepy: An estimated 500 red-winged blackbirds were found lying dead or dying along a quarter-mile stretch of Louisiana highway yesterday, the Advocate reports. A number of the bodies have been shipped to labs in Georgia and Wisconsin for testing, but the rest were left lying...

$220M Sand Berms Captured .02% of Gulf Oil
$220M Sand Berms
Captured .02% of Gulf Oil
new report

$220M Sand Berms Captured .02% of Gulf Oil

They cost $220 million and caught a 'minuscule' amount of oil

(Newser) - Louisiana spent $220 million of BP's money to build sand berms along its coast to catch oil from the big spill—and they didn't catch very much at all, says a scathing government report. It found the berms collected maybe 1,000 barrels of the estimated 5 million spilled. By...

Study: Gulf's Carcinogen Levels Explode 40-Fold

Meanwhile, Obama administration issues new drilling safety rules

(Newser) - Researchers have detected a 40-fold increase in potentially cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons off the coast of Louisiana’s Grande Isle. The study is especially scary because it only measured PAHs that could seep through a biological membrane, the Huffington Post explains. “This is a measure of what would enter...

In Louisiana, a Huge 'Fish Kill'
 In Louisiana, a Huge 'Fish Kill' 

In Louisiana, a Huge 'Fish Kill'

Residents fear it's related to oil spill, experts not sure

(Newser) - Near Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, there lies what looks like a gravel road. It's not: It's a waterway clogged with hundreds of thousands of dead fish, crabs, stingrays, and eel—so many that it appears solid. A dead whale was also found in the area, WWL-TV reports. "Fish kills" are...

13 Workers Rescued From Oil Platform Blast

One person injured; no oil leaks seen

(Newser) - An offshore oil platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast today, but this one appears headed toward a better ending than BP's explosion. All 13 people aboard have been rescued—though one is reportedly injured. Earlier reports that the platform was inactive have...

Brad Pitt Rebuilding 9th Ward Home at a Time

Quirky houses boast top material, solar panels

(Newser) - Officials bungled rebuilding New Orleans' Ninth Ward after Katrina, but the devastated district is sprouting colorful, quirky, elevated homes boasting top-notch materials and solar panels thanks to a massive effort spearheaded by Brad Pitt. The actor is highlighted in Spike Lee's new two-part HBO documentary If God is Willing and ...

Victoria's Secret Slights Saints, Enrages Fans

Champions excluded from NFL undies collection

(Newser) - Victoria's Secret has enraged Louisiana's female football fans—reputedly some of the most intense around—by excluding the New Orleans Saints from its Pink NFL lineup, Advertising Age reports. Not only are the defending Super Bowl champs missing, but the line does include the Boston Red Sox, which was not...

Vogue Oil Spread Ignites Uproar
 Vogue Oil Spread Ignites Uproar 

Vogue Oil Spread Ignites Uproar

Gross photos too slick for some

(Newser) - Is an arresting Vogue Italia cover and fashion spread evidence of environmental sensitivity or a heartless ploy to boost magazine sales with horrific images of a disaster? Depends on whom you ask. The spread, shot in Los Angeles by renowned photographer Steven Meisel, features be-feathered model Kristen McMenamy and her...

Half of US Kids Can't Swim
 Half of US Kids Can't Swim 

Half of US Kids Can't Swim

Drowning tragedy highlights our poor water skills

(Newser) - The tragic drowning of 6 teens in Louisiana happened because the victims and a handful of bystanders all lacked the ability to swim. They're not alone: a full 37% of adult Americans told a CDC study that they couldn't swim the standard lap of 24 yards. A separate University of...

Gulf Workers Not Buying Good News

Many distrust reports oil has dissipated

(Newser) - The Gulf leak appears to be permanently plugged and feds believe only a quarter of the oil remains but Gulf coast residents aren't ready to start cheering. Many—wary after earlier assurances proved false—are skeptical about reports the oil has been absorbed by Mother Nature and fear it could...

Oil Oozes Out of Louisiana Ground

Answers part of that where-did-it-go question

(Newser) - These days in Louisiana, even the hermit crabs are digging oil wells. Researchers on a barrier island off the southeastern Louisiana coast who were looking for oil offshore found it on land, too—oozing out of tiny holes dug by hermit crabs. One local official said that when he dug...

6 La. Teens Drown in River; None Could Swim

One rescued as group wading in shallow water hits deep spot

(Newser) - Six teenagers drowned in the Red River in northwest Louisiana yesterday when they stepped off a ledge from shallow water into a chasm about 20 feet deep. The victims, ages 13 to 18, included three brothers in one family and a sister and two brothers in another. "They were...

The Gulf: Our National Sinkhole
 The Gulf: 
 Our National Sinkhole 
It's Not Just BP...

The Gulf: Our National Sinkhole

Environmental woes predate BP, oil spill

(Newser) - Question: What, beside millions of barrels of oil , has been dumped into the Gulf of Mexico? Answer: Just about everything. The crude oozing across the Gulf is just the latest in a string of environmental problems plaguing the region, finds the New York Times . In addition to oil, there are...

Boat Hits Well, Triggers New Gulf Oil Leak

Louisiana's coast has another (smaller) spill to fight

(Newser) - A tow boat struck an abandoned well off the coast of Louisiana today, sending a plume of oil and gas into the air. Crews are at the site, near Mud Lake, and expect to have it under control today. Booms and oil-skimming equipment were already in the area, which has...

Cajuns Wonder If Gulf Spill Is Last Straw
 Cajuns Wonder If 
 Gulf Spill Is Last Straw 
PARADISE LOST?

Cajuns Wonder If Gulf Spill Is Last Straw

Many plan to stay till the bitter end, if need be

(Newser) - The sultry, salty soul of Louisiana's Cajun culture is inextricably bound to the rhythm of the waters of the Gulf: The sea provides plentiful food, work, and a lifestyle that has endured since the Cajuns settled there in the 1700s. But the sea has also been quick to punish, and...

Vitter Backs Birther Lawsuits

Distrusts 'mainstream media' on Obama birth certificate

(Newser) - Sen. David Vitter says he supports conservative organizations challenging President Barack Obama's citizenship in court. The Louisiana Republican, who is running for re-election, made the comments at a town hall-style event in Metairie, La., on Sunday when a constituent asked what he would do about what the questioner said was...

Clarence Thomas' Nephew: Hospital Tased Me

Derek Thomas says staff got physical when he refused gown

(Newser) - The nephew of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas says a Louisiana hospital beat and tased him for refusing to put on a hospital gown, reports local station WGNO. Derek Thomas says officials at West Jefferson Medical Center punched him in the lip, pulled his hair out, and ultimately tased him—...

Praise the Lord and Pass the Pistols
 Praise the Lord 
 and Pass the Pistols 
LOUISIANA OKS GUNS IN CHURCHES

Praise the Lord and Pass the Pistols

But pastor must tell others about 'security force'

(Newser) - Now you can go to church packing heat—as long as you do in Louisiana. GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law the controversial "Gun-in-Church" bill that authorizes people after 8 hours of safety training to carry concealed weapons into any house of worship (including mosques) as part...

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