Tag Archives: New Orleans

Norwegian Cruise Line Ship Reports COVID Outbreak

ABC News reports: Ten people aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship approaching New Orleans have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Saturday night. The Norwegian Breakaway had departed New Orleans on Nov. 28 and is due to return this weekend, the Louisiana Department of Health said in a news release. Over the past week, the ship made stops in Belize, …

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DOJ: Archdiocese Ripped Off FEMA For Over $1 Million

The Christian Post reports: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has agreed to pay more than $1 million as part of a settlement over allegations of falsified Hurricane Katrina aid claims. The settlement came in response to allegations that the archdiocese had violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) …

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Most Of New Orleans Is Still Without Power [VIDEO]

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: The power was still out for more than 600,000 Entergy customers in Louisiana on Saturday, as the utility’s top executives said it continued to make slow progress fixing the worst ever storm damage to hit the state’s electricity infrastructure. The damage to Entergy’s transmission infrastructure — to poles, sub-stations, distribution lines, and even the large …

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NOLA’s Levees Held, But Power May Be Out For Weeks

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: The massive storm, which arrived on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, sent rescuers scrambling to retrieve people from attics as flood waters poured into places like Lafitte, LaPlace and Braithwaite. The winds, matching the highest speeds ever recorded in Louisiana, tore roofs off homes, toppled transmission towers and left historic buildings in ruin. But …

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Ida Leaves All Of New Orleans Without Power [VIDEO]

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A slow-moving Hurricane Ida has left all of Orleans Parish customers without power due to “catastrophic transmission damage,” according to Entergy New Orleans. The intense storm had caused all eight transmission lines into the New Orleans area to go down, spokesman Brandon Scardigli said in an emailed statement. That created a load imbalance that knocked …

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Ida Makes Louisiana Landfall With 150 MPH Winds

ABC News reports: Hurricane Ida has made landfall in Louisiana as one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever strike the U.S. with 150 mph winds. Ida, which became a Category 1 hurricane Friday afternoon, has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds. Storm surge could reach 15 feet along parts of the Louisiana/Mississippi coastline and 6 …

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Hurricane Ida Nears Category 5, Winds At 150 MPH

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Ida has strengthened into a Category 4 as it heads toward landfall on the northern Gulf Coast today, where it will bring life-threatening storm surge, dangerous rainfall flooding and potentially catastrophic winds. Ida had winds of 150 mph as of 6 a.m. CDT on Sunday, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane. Maximum sustained winds …

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New Orleans Mayor: It’s Now Too Late To Evacuate

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Mayor LaToya Cantrell today said that with little time left before Hurricane Ida reaches Louisiana, residents should get ready to hunker down and ride out the storm. She told a news conference there wasn’t enough time to establish the highway contraflow procedures necessary to move all residents out of the city before the storm’s expected …

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Evacuations For NOLA, Ida Expected To Strike At Cat 4

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Hurricane Ida has formed and is expected to make landfall Sunday in Louisiana near Category 4 strength, forecasters with National Hurricane Center said Friday. Hurricane watches have been issued for Louisiana, including metro New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. The latest track has Ida coming ashore Sunday, bringing life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds and heavy …

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Major Hurricane Likely To Hit Gulf Coast This Weekend

The Weather Channel reports: Tropical Storm Ida is strengthening in the Caribbean Sea and is forecast to threaten the northern U.S. Gulf Coast as a major hurricane this weekend. A hurricane watch stretches from Cameron, Louisiana, to the Mississippi-Alabama state line, including the New Orleans metro area. A storm surge watch has also been issued from the Texas-Louisiana state line …

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Feds Seize Misspelled Fake Vax Cards Made In China

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Over the past two weeks, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have seized at least three batches of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards that were being shipped to New Orleans. The blank cards, created to mimic those provided by the Centers for Disease Control, were seized at the port of Memphis between Aug. 4 and Aug. …

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New Orleans Jazz Fest Cancelled For Second Year

Pitchfork reports: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has officially canceled its 2021 edition due to concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 edition of Jazz Fest will occur in the event’s typical spring time slot. The festival was initially postponed in March 2020 amid early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Festival organizers announced that the rescheduled event …

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New Orleans Pardons Thousands For Weed Possession

New Orleans’ CBS News affiliate reports: The New Orleans City Council pardoned thousands of people who have been cited for marijuana possession. According to Council President Helena Moreno, about 10,000 convictions and pending case penalties for small amounts of cannabis possession have been pardoned as well as any future summons. The council hopes that the new move will help the …

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Priest And Dominatrices Charged In Altar Three-Way

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A former priest and two professional dominatrices accused of performing sex acts on the altar of a Catholic church in Pearl River were charged by the north shore District Attorney’s Office Thursday with one count of institutional vandalism, a felony. Travis John Clark, 37, who was pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, and …

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Three Dead In Louisiana Gun Store Shootout [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: A person entered a gun store and shooting range in a New Orleans suburb and fatally shot two people Saturday, prompting customers and staff to open fire on the shooter, a sheriff said. The shooter also died. The shooting happened around 2:50 p.m. at the Jefferson Gun Outlet in the suburb of Metairie, according to a …

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All New Orleans Bars Ordered Closed For Mardi Gras

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Bars will be closed, people will have to pass through checkpoints to get to major streets like Bourbon and Frenchmen streets and a heavy police presence will patrol New Orleans in the days leading up to Mardi Gras this year as part of a plan aimed at cracking down on crowds to prevent the spread …

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Hurricane May Hit New Orleans At Category 2 [VIDEO]

The Weather Channel reports: Tropical Storm Sally is expected to strengthen into a hurricane and bring an extremely dangerous storm surge, flooding rainfall and damaging winds to the Gulf Coast beginning on Monday. Sally could produce the deadly duo of human-height storm surge and a foot or more of rainfall in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Nearly 90% of deaths …

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Mayor: New Orleans Bars To Reopen At 25% Capacity

The Associated Press reports: New Orleans will let the good times roll in casinos and bars again beginning Saturday, with restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Wednesday. That means bars and casinos in the city can open — although only at 25 percent capacity, Cantrell said during a “Town Hall” broadcast on WBOK. Food-serving …

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23rd US Diocese Declares Bankruptcy Amid Lawsuits

From the Archdiocese of New Orleans: In order to continue effectively ministering to the needs of the church community and victims and survivors of clergy abuse, the Administrative Offices of the Archdiocese of New Orleans announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization under the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Code. The move was necessitated by the growing financial strain …

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New Orleans Mayor: No Large Events For Rest Of 2020

CBS News New Orleans reports: New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell today said she does not expect any large events to take place in the city for the remainder of 2020. While discussion has begun about how to re-start the economy and more normal activities when the coronavirus pandemic ends, the mayor said it is likely that a certain amount of …

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