New Fad in New Orleans: Guns

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 Da Creek Don't Rise. "I've had a love for this place for a long time," Pitt explains in the film. "Like many, we couldn't believe the ineptitude of the recovery effort." More»

(NEWSER) - Louisiana is still finding coffins displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years on, the Wall Street Journal reports. Katrina and Rita moved 1,500 bodies from their resting places in the state's swampy south, where floating coffins during floods have long been part of local folklore. Hundreds remain unidentified, and they are still turning up in woods and water. More»

Hurricane's shadow still looms, but New Orleans revelers make a comeback

(NEWSER) - Super Tuesday means Mardi Gras in Louisiana today, and the New Orleans bacchanal is slowly finding its feet 3 years after Hurricane Katrina. The predominantly black Zulu parade has as its king this year a 62-year-old native who left the Big Easy for Houston after the levees broke. He's only the second king, after Louis Armstrong, to live outside of New Orleans, the Times-Picayune reports. More»

But arms org still seeks survivors who owned the weapons

(NEWSER) - The National Rifle Association has filed a federal lawsuit to recover hundreds of guns seized from New Orleans residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, AP reports. The suit claims that residents were left "at the mercy of roving gangs, home invaders and other criminals" because they lost their weapons. Police say they only confiscated stolen guns or those found in abandoned homes. More»

Two years after Katrina, criminals flood city

(NEWSER) - Only two-thirds of the population of New Orleans has returned since Hurricane Katrina destroyed large parts of the city two years ago—but crime has returned full force. The murder rate in the Big Easy is rocketing, crime is a constant fear among citizens and many are arming themselves for protection, Reuters reports. More»