Louisiana

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Boustany: Obama Should Start Over on Bipartisan Plan

(Newser) - Charles Boustany, who was upstaged last night by the impromptu opposition from his colleague, Joe Wilson, delivered the official response to Obama's speech, opening with his "disappointment" that Obama hadn't announced a do-over in the effort to reform health insurance. “Most Americans,  the Louisiana congressman said, wanted...

New Orleans Clinic Gives Jazz Musicians Free Care

Volunteer doctors eagerly treat musical idols

(Newser) - One New Orleans couple is so passionate about jazz that they give musicians free or low-cost health care, NBC News reports. The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, founded 11 years ago, tries “to prevent death by lifestyle" for low-paid musicians who can’t afford treatment, says one founder. "We...

Ex-Congressman Caught With $90K in Freezer Is Guilty

(Newser) - A federal jury convicted a former Louisiana congressman today of taking bribes on 11 of 16 counts in a case in which agents found $90,000 in his freezer. Former Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat who had represented parts of New Orleans, was accused of accepting more than $400,000...

My Client's Corrupt, But Who Isn't?
My Client's Corrupt, But
Who Isn't?
politics on trial

My Client's Corrupt, But Who Isn't?

All pols have bribes in the freezer, Jefferson's lawyer contends

(Newser) - Former Rep. William Jefferson’s lawyer tried a novel defense tactic in his closing arguments yesterday: putting all of the political class on trial. Sure, his client had stashed bribe money in his freezer—but hasn’t everyone, metaphorically speaking? “We all occupy the gray area,” said attorney...

Monster Fish Becomes Hunters' Fave

(Newser) - Fish don’t get much uglier than the alligator gar, but lately the dinosaur-like monstrosity has attracted a following… of crossbow-wielding sportsmen trying to kill it, the Wall Street Journal reports. Part fishing, part monster hunting, bagging an alligator gar is a thrilling exercise, and at up to 8 feet...

'Jena 6' Defendants Walk With No Jail Time

(Newser) - Five black students accused of beating a white classmate in Louisiana pleaded no contest to misdemeanor civil battery today, ending a trial that triggered a huge civil rights demonstration, the Alexandria Town Talk reports. Critics said that the so-called "Jena Six," originally charged with attempted murder, were...

With Friends Like These...
With Friends Like These...
OPINION

With Friends Like These...

My client was drunk, stupid, sleazy—oh, and black, argues Jefferson's lawyer

(Newser) - What do you say when you’re defending William Jefferson, on trial for allegedly taking $100,000 in bribe money and hiding it in his freezer? Pretty much whatever the heck you can think of, writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. The lawyer for the then-Congressman opened his defense...

Corruption Trial of Ex-Louisiana Rep Kicks Off

Feds say Jefferson took bribes, had $90K stashed in his freezer

(Newser) - Jury selection began today in the trial of former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The Democrat is charged with taking bribes and using his office to set up business deals in Africa. “It is good to have my family with me,” he said as...

FEMA Will Sell Katrina Trailers to Occupants for $1

Obama administration announces housing plan for victims

(Newser) - Nearly 4 years after Hurricane Katrina hit, the federal government is bringing its assistance program for displaced victims to a close by essentially giving residents the 1,800 mobile homes it has loaned out, the Washington Post reports. Occupants can buy their units for $1 or $5, depending on the...

La. Teen Fires at Teacher, Shoots Himself

(Newser) - A Louisiana teenager shot himself in the head today after firing at a middle school teacher who refused to praise Marilyn Manson, Houmatoday.com reports. The 15-year-old Larose-Cut Off Middle School student, identified as Justin Doucet, left a suicide note saying he planned to go on a shooting spree. He...

David Duke Goes to the Birds in Austria

Former Ku Klux Klan leader runs nature photography business

(Newser) - David Duke appears to have traded in burning crosses for a high-powered camera lens, reports the Telegraph, which tracked the former Ku Klux Klan honcho to a village in Austria. The onetime US presidential candidate now sells photos of birds and other wildlife he’s taken as he traipses through...

Porn Star Eyes Move on Vitter's Senate Seat

Stormy Daniels launches 'listening tour' across Louisiana

(Newser) - Louisiana Sen. David Vitter has been tied to the DC Madam, but an election challenger with an even more compelling sexual history is deciding whether to get serious in going after his Senate seat. Politico reports that Stormy Daniels, a porn star whose credits include Operation Desert Stormy, is launching...

Natural Gas Finds Could Herald Energy Shift in US

Discoveries speed push to replace coal, oil

(Newser) - A huge natural-gas discovery in Louisiana, on the heels of similar finds elsewhere over the past decade, is fueling a push to shift the nation’s energy portfolio, the Wall Street Journal reports. Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale could hold the energy equivalent of 18 years of current US oil production;...

Katrina Negligence Case Against Feds Goes to Court

(Newser) - Hurricane Katrina victims get their day in court beginning today, as a federal judge hears a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers. Tens of thousands of New Orleans residents could win damages, in what lawyers are calling “the last case standing” against the government. “This is sort...

GOP Govs Back Down, Request Stimulus Funds

Ambitious conservatives cave on most federal aid dollars

(Newser) - Tough talk about rejecting stimulus funds earned some GOP governors—and presidential hopefuls—plenty of headlines, but reality has set in, Politico reports. Under fire from their legislatures, Bobby Jindal, Mark Sanford, and Sarah Palin have all requested funds in the past week. “At this point it looks like...

Redoubt Eruption Burns Jindal
 Redoubt Eruption Burns Jindal 

Redoubt Eruption Burns Jindal

In wake of explosion

(Newser) - Mount Redoubt erupted in Alaska, but Bobby Jindal is feeling the heat in Louisiana, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Democrats are raking the governor over the coals for scoffing at “something called volcano monitoring” as an example of wasteful spending in his televised speech last month. “It’s...

Jindal Rallies GOP, Razzes Himself

(Newser) - Bobby Jindal had the privilege of speaking on the same night as Barack Obama again, but this time on a smaller stage. The Louisiana governor, pilloried after delivering the Republican response to Obama's last prime-time address, told a congressional fundraising dinner for the GOP that "it's time to declare...

This Guy Wasn't the Real Jindal
 This Guy Wasn't the Real Jindal 
OPINION

This Guy Wasn't the Real Jindal

Politician's handlers fail to showcase his talents

(Newser) - He may have looked like Bobby Jindal, but the man delivering the Republican response to President Obama's congressional address on Tuesday was no Bobby Jindal. Rather, the "brilliant statesman" was "equal parts Mister Rogers, Bobby Brady, and Kenneth the Page," writes Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post....

Jindal Fudged Katrina Story
 Jindal Fudged 
 Katrina Story 

Jindal Fudged Katrina Story

Says he helped battle 'bureaucrats' but wasn't actually there

(Newser) - Bobby Jindal's reps are scrambling to explain the heroic Katrina tale he slipped into his big speech on Tuesday night. The Louisiana governor said he was in New Orleans "during Katrina" and backed a sheriff's push to send out rescue boats despite "bureaucrats" who fretted over...

New Orleans Gives National Guard the Boot

(Newser) - New Orleans is sending off the last National Guard troops some 3 1/2 years after they arrived to help patrol the hurricane-ravaged city, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Police say their 1,500 officers are enough to control bad neighborhoods, but not everyone is convinced. "We don't have enough...

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