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...There were 161 homicides in this city last year, and there have been 18 so far this year, making New Orleans by most measures the nation’s per capita murder capital, given its sharply reduced population. Many of the victims and the suspects are teenagers. About two-thirds of the deaths have gone unsolved: the killers, in many cases, continue to walk the streets and are likely to kill again, the police say. Other cities have plenty of murders. But only in New Orleans has there been the uniquely poisoned set of circumstances that has led to this city’s position at the...

Updated: Jan. 25, 2007, 1:11 PM ET Athlete who fled Katrina jailed for making bomb threat Associated Press DENTON, Texas -- A high school basketball star is accused of calling in a bomb threat to the school the night of a game he was missing because of a suspension for fighting. Howard Stirgus, an 18-year-old who came to Denton in 2005 after fleeing New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, was jailed on suspicion of making a false alarm and abusing the 911 system. Authorities said he called Denton High School on Tuesday night, claiming there was a bomb in the building...

Michael Brown, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is shooting off his mouth again. Last week in New York City, he claimed that Mississippi and Louisiana were treated differently after Hurricane Katrina because of their politics. Unfortunately, Louisiana's Democratic governor, Kathleen Blanco, jumped on the suggestion, claiming that Brown had "broken the code of silence about the political conspiracy to hurt the people of Louisiana." Fortunately, Mississippi's Republican governor, Haley Barbour, took the time to consider the source of this conspiracy theory and said Brown's "credibility has been worn pretty thin over the last couple of years...

President Bush miffed some people in Louisiana, not necessarily by what he said in Tuesday night's State of the Union Address, but by what he didn't say. He did not mention Hurricane Katrina recovery. Governor Kathleen Blanco was visibly angry on Wednesday. In last year's State of the Union, you heard the president speak of Katrina, but people who remain in FEMA trailers say the lack of mention this year leaves them angry. One person we spoke with says, "It doesn't make no sense what he is doing. And now he's asking for more money for troops to go to...

Gov. Kathleen Blanco angrily criticized President Bush on Wednesday for not mentioning 2005's destructive hurricanes in his State of the Union speech, and said Louisiana is being shortchanged in federal recovery funding for political reasons. "I guess the pain of the hurricane is yesterday's news in Washington," Blanco said at a news conference.

A Statement by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco: "The White House indignation over Michael Brown's whistle-blowing is very revealing. He has broken the code of silence about the political conspiracy to hurt the people of Louisiana. Their target was me, but the real victims have been the people of our state. "For eighteen months, the Washington Republicans have consistently punished and discriminated against our people. All for partisan political purposes. A state with 80 percent of the storm damage from two hurricanes received barely 50 percent of federal relief funds. Mississippi, with far less damage, received far more money proportionately and...

WASHINGTON — Gov. Kathleen Blanco called on Congress on Monday to create a bipartisan commission to see if Republican Party politics factored in the federal response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Blanco’s call comes just days after former FEMA Director Michael Brown said the White House considered politics while planning to deal with Hurricane Katrina. Brown said Friday that the White House was considering federalizing Louisiana because Blanco was a Democrat. Similar measures were not considered for Mississippi, which was headed by Gov. Haley Barbour, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, he said. On Monday, Brown wouldn’t name...

From: The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, who lost his bid for governor in 2003, announced to supporters Monday that he would seek the job again this fall. "Our state, our communities, and our families have been through some very tough times. There is clearly a hunger for a new approach to governing," Jindal said in an e-mail to his supporters announcing his intentions. Jindal, R-Kenner, will try to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who has said she is running for re-election. Blanco defeated Jindal in 2003, but she has faced criticism since hurricanes...

Though Bobby Jindal hasn't announced whether he will run enter the upcoming governor's race in Louisiana, I am encouraged that he will once again challenge Kathleen Blanco for the position. Earlier today I received the following email message from BobbyJindal.com: Diane, We are looking to recruit a few individuals to help us organize our Grassroots efforts for Bobby Jindal in your parish. We would love to have your help and input! Essentially, the Grassroots Leadership Team will be the organization of the campaign in your parish. The team will help organize and coordinate the grassroots efforts of the parish. It...

NEW YORK — Political storm clouds gathered again over the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina as former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown said party politics influenced decisions on whether to take federal control of Louisiana and other areas affected by the hurricane. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the partisanship Brown described was "disgusting," while a White House spokeswoman said Brown was making "false statements." Brown told a group of graduate students Friday that some in the White House had suggested the federal government should take charge in Louisiana because Blanco was a Democrat, while leaving Mississippi Gov....

BATON ROUGE, La. -- A new poll shows only about one-third of Louisiana's voters would vote to re-elect Gov. Kathleen Blanco in a race against U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal. Jindal, who lost the governor's race to Blanco in 2003, had strong support in the poll conducted by Southern Media and Opinion Research and released Tuesday. Though he hasn't announced whether he will run for the position, Jindal garnered nearly 59 percent of the vote, compared to Blanco's 35 percent in the survey. "To say the least for an incumbent governor, this is obviously not good news for her," said pollster...

City's murder rate is 30 percent higher than any other U.S. city NEW ORLEANS - In the last week more Americans have died in New Orleans than in Iraq. Since Dec. 29, there have been eight military deaths. In the Big Easy, there have been 14 murders. Among the latest victims: Helen Hill, a 36-year-old mother shot in her home in front of her husband and 2-year-old. "She was just such a wonderful person," says friend Sheri Branch, "the brightest spot of New Orleans to me." The killers are growing more brazen, striking in broad daylight and using assault rifles,...

Just days before he was to take office, the body of Westlake Mayor-Elect Gerald Washington was found outside the old Mossville High School on Old Spanish Trail. According to authorities with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office, the 9-1-1 call came in at 9:49 p.m. from a motorist passing the school who said they saw a body on the ground of the parking lot. Calcasieu Sheriff's crime scene investigators arrived and found the body of a black male with a single gun shot wound. The body was later identified as Washington. The Calcasieu Coronor's Office is performing an autospy to determine...

NEW ORLEANS — For months, Mayor Ray Nagin has been saying displaced New Orleanians would return to the city. Today he faced the harsh reality. According to the U-S Census Bureau, Louisiana's population has dropped by two hundred thousand people or five percent over the last year. That's the largest one year migration from an American state since World War Two. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, broken levees and flooding have pushed people into neighboring states. Nagin says, "to be quite frank with you, I think our repopulation,or recovery is somewhat in a holding pattern right now." Nagin says the delay...

Payments have been too slow, Powell says : Federal Gulf Coast rebuilding coordinator Donald Powell on Wednesday urged the contractor running the Road Home program to speed up payments to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. "As I expressed by phone, I have serious concerns about the effectiveness and expediency of the program," Powell said in a letter to Sudhakar Kesavan, chief executive of the Virginia-based ICF International. "As I write this letter, only 92 homeowners have received financial assistance out of over 80,000 applicants, or .1 percent of applicants," he wrote. "This rate must dramatically improve." In the one-page...

The survey, conducted by the polling service surveyusa.com, show Blanco with one of the lowest ratings among all of the Governors throughout the United States. The data further shows that the Governor has some significant hurdles to overcome with various constituencies to win re-election. The survey of 600 likely voters asked the question, "Do you approve or disapprove of the job Kathleen Blanco is doing as Governor?" Surprisingly, the results showed little of a gender gap. Usually, female governors enjoy a degree of sympathy by gender. In this case, only 39% of men approved of Blanco, and 40% of women...

A personal dinner with Gov. Kathleen Blanco could be within anyone’s grasp after a meal at the Governor’s Mansion sold for $1 in Monroe. In what amounts to a “bad joke gone awry,” the Monroe Chamber of Commerce’s annual holiday fundraiser featured a live auction with the last item up for bid being a dinner with the governor. The meal sold to the first bidder, Monroe banker Malcolm Maddox, said Sue Edmunds, chamber president. Edmunds said it is a big embarrassment after Blanco generously offered the donation. “We are deeply apologetic,” Edmunds said. “This is not a reflection of our...

House Republicans handed the governor what she called a Waterloo defeat Wednesday by spurning most of her spending plans. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, however, declared victory on three fronts — an insurance reimbursement for homeowners, a $75-per-child tax credit and a $300 million fund for a steel mill. But Blanco blamed Washington-style politics for her failure to secure road funding and pay raises for teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and others. “Party politics did raise its ugly head,” she said during a news conference. House and Senate leaders plan to approve the remaining legislation and adjourn by Friday — two days...

A chance to dine with embattled Gov. Kathleen Blanco fetched a winning bid of $1 at a recent fundraising auction hosted by a group of business leaders. The president of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, in northeastern Louisiana, said she called Blanco's office Tuesday to apologize for a "poor joke gone awry." "It's something we deeply regret," chamber president Sue Edmunds said Wednesday. "Our organization has worked very well with the governor. We have been pleased with her efforts on behalf of this community." Dinner with Blanco was the last item up for bid at the fundraising auction last week....

EW ORLEANS (AP) -- Call it a sign of the times for Louisiana's embattled governor: A chance to dine with Gov. Kathleen Blanco fetched a winning bid of $1 at a recent fundraising auction hosted by a group of business leaders. The president of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, in northeastern Louisiana, said she called Blanco's office Tuesday to apologize for a "poor joke gone awry."