Don't Get Complacent, Big Easy: Officials

Official says city is up to pre-Katrina levels, but unprepared for bigger disaster

(NEWSER) - With Hurricane Gustav set to thrash the Big Easy almost exactly 3 years after Katrina, Newsweek sits down with New Orleans Levee District executive director Stevan Spencer to find out what will change this time around. “We are better than before Katrina —we've raised the levees and strengthened or replaced the floodwalls,” he says. 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»

Five sentences in Katrina violence range from six years to 65

(AP) - Five former New Orleans police officers were sentenced today to prison terms ranging from six to 65 years for their roles in deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina. Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Anthony Villavaso, and Robert Faulcon were convicted of firearms charges. Retired Sgt. Arthur "Archie" Kaufman, who was assigned to investigate the shootings, was convicted of helping orchestrate the cover-up. More»

David Warren gets 25 years, Gregory McRae 17 in death of Henry Glover

(AP) - Calling the crimes inexcusable and barbaric, a judge sentenced two former New Orleans police officers to prison today for their roles in the shooting death of an unarmed man whose body was later set on fire in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The judge gave David Warren 25 years for shooting 31-year-old Henry Glover and Gregory McRae 17 years for burning Glover's body afterward. More»

'Hurricane Katrina didn’t turn petty theft into a capital offense'

(NEWSER) - Three New Orleans police officers have been found guilty in the death of a man who was shot and had his body burned in the days after Hurricane Katrina. David Warren was found guilty on manslaughter in the death of Henry Glover and two other officers were found guilty on charges including perjury and obstructing justice, the New York Times reports. Two other officers were acquitted. More»