Topic: Baton Rouge
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Five of the costliest US river floods
The 2011 Mississippi River flood, which has broken records in some places, is creating steady destruction in America's midsection. Hurricanes tend to cause more financial damage, and flash floods typically take more lives. But overflowing rivers deliver a long, slow economic punch. Arkansas farmers have lost an estimated $500 million in crops to this year's flood. Mississippi homes and catfish farms – a leading industry – are threatened. In Louisiana, the diversion of water through a spillway to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans still puts hundreds of homes, businesses, and chemical plants and oil refineries at risk. Total damages could run into the billions. Here's a look at five of the most expensive river floods in the US, according to estimates from the National Weather Service and historical accounts (reported in 2011 dollars):
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In Pictures: Mississippi River floods
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The Oscars 2011: How real are the reality-based Best Picture nominees?
Four of the 10 features on the Best Picture slate are based on real characters and events: The King’s Speech, The Fighter, The Social Network, and 127 Hours. Here are some facts behind the true-life stories contending for this year’s Best Picture Academy Award.
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Gallery: Will these Republicans run in 2012?
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In Pictures: NFL draft 2011 prospects
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Is the death of newspapers the end of good citizenship?
The death of newspapers – by cutbacks, outright disappearance, or morphing into lean websites – means a reduction of watchdog reporting and less local information. Some say it has caused a drop in civic participation. Is it a blow to good citizenship?
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School lunches: Thumbs up for Baton Rouge chef's menu
Feeding kids in Baton Rouge can be cheap and educational, preaches chef Lauren Guy. Fusing Louisiana flavor with nutritional verve, Career Academy's lunch menu is a welcome example of newly reformed meals getting positive student marks.
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Police arrest suspect for LSU bomb threat (+video)
Baton Rouge police have arrested a man who is allegedly responsible for the bomb threat which lead to the evacuation of the entire LSU campus earlier this week. The man has no apparent connection to LSU.
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Thousands of LSU student return to dorms after bomb threat (+video)
Louisiana State University's entire campus was evacuated after a bomb threat was called in Monday morning. By evening students were able to return to their dorms after bomb-sniffer dogs had swept the area.
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Hurricane Isaac storm surge reversed flow of Mississippi River
Hurricane Isaac was only a Category 1, but its storm surge and slow pace led to inland flooding and reversed the Mississippi for 24 hours. Scientists are working to better forecast these effects.
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Rain persists as Isaac heads toward Arkansas, Missouri
Tropical Storm Isaac winds are dying but heavy rain continues over Louisiana, causing flooding. Isaac's rains may help drought-struck Midwestern states on Friday.
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Modern Parenthood
Back to school: Fresh paint may improve school's overall qualityBack-to-school time sparks parents and educators to think about school improvement, inspiring one father to volunteer to paint his son's school in order to brighten the surroundings – and possibly the quality of thought.
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Mysterious Gulf oil sheen: Where did it come from?
Scientists can't yet determine where the 10-mile stretch of oil sheen found Wednesday in the Gulf of Mexico originated, but they have ways of finding out. Shell oil is investigating.
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Flood warnings for Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri
Heavy rains and flooding are forecast to continue in eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and western Missouri, says the National Weather Service.
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Health-care fraud crackdown nets $4.1b. Is that a lot?
Officials say nearly $4.1b was recovered last year in the health-care fraud crackdown, an Obama priority, but it's unclear if that reflects the success of law enforcement or the magnitude of the problem.
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BCS National Championship Game: LSU vs. Alabama in football rematch heaven (+video)
LSU and Alabama will play for all the marbles Monday night in New Orleans. Will the national title game resemble the regular season's first meeting?
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Opinion: Christopher Hitchens: 'God is not great' - but bookmobiles are
Author and staunch atheist Christopher Hitchens died yesterday, Vanity Fair reported. How did the man who could write on everything begin his life of learning? The bookmobile – a vital entity now in danger of becoming obsolete. Hitchens' mind was a testament to their ongoing necessity.
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Culture Cafe
Duran Duran fans spend hardAs the British rock band tours North America, long-time Duran Duran followers – mostly women – are crisscrossing the country and dolling up to watch their greying idols up close.
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Help wanted. But only if you have a job.
Help wanted with a twist: Some firms won't even consider hiring someone who doesn't already have a job. But unemployed can better their job prospects.
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New Orleans finds tropical storm Lee is no Katrina
So far, tropical storm Lee hasn't been a weather monster. Its rains brought relief to a drought in southern Louisiana and quenched a marsh fire that had blanketed New Orleans with smoke.
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Teaching creationism: Louisiana law that skirts US ban survives challenge
The Louisiana law allows teaching contrary to evolution on the grounds it promotes critical thinking, a proposition ridiculed by scientists. Similar legislation is being debated in other states.
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Opinion: After Mississippi floods and Joplin tornado, some hard-hitting geography lessons
Amid a spate of natural disasters, the latest crisis on the Mississippi has reminded Americans that the river is not merely a Twain-era historical footnote, but a vital instrument of modern commerce and a powerful force in draining, nourishing – and sometimes flooding – a large swath of the US.
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Louisiana's Cajun country braces for historic flooding
Residents in Louisiana's Cajun country are preparing for what's expected to be the worst flooding in more than 80 years as the Mississippi surges toward seven rural parishes along the Atchafalaya River Basin.
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Opinion: Letting Mississippi run its natural course could save New Orleans from hurricanes
The full diversion of the Mississippi River back down the Atchafalaya basin would flood millions of acres, permanently submerge entire communities, destroy oil refineries and farms, and leave the port of New Orleans without its river. But it could also save Louisiana from the next hurricane.
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How Mississippi River floods could save Louisiana's sinking coasts
Before the current levee system was built, Mississippi River floods helped replenish Louisiana coastal wetlands with silt. Now that silt goes into the Gulf and the coastline is disappearing. But scientists have a plan, and the great flood of 2011 could help them bring it about.
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Oil futures fall: good news for drivers
Oil futures drop below $98 a barrel. Gasoline futures decline even more. Oil futures now down 15 percent this month.
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Five of the costliest US river floods
The 2011 Mississippi River flood, which has broken records in some places, is creating steady destruction in America's midsection. Hurricanes tend to cause more financial damage, and flash floods typically take more lives. But overflowing rivers deliver a long, slow economic punch. Arkansas farmers have lost an estimated $500 million in crops to this year's flood. Mississippi homes and catfish farms – a leading industry – are threatened. In Louisiana, the diversion of water through a spillway to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans still puts hundreds of homes, businesses, and chemical plants and oil refineries at risk. Total damages could run into the billions. Here's a look at five of the most expensive river floods in the US, according to estimates from the National Weather Service and historical accounts (reported in 2011 dollars):
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Morganza spillway: Flooding farmland to save New Orleans
The US Army of Corps of Engineers has opened the Morganza spillway to prevent the surging Mississippi from endangering New Orleans. But farms and natural habitat will be flooded as a result.
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Life along the Mississippi: Waiting and watching as the river rises
The US Army Corps of Engineers may open the Morganza Floodway to divert the surging Mississippi away from larger metropolitan areas. The clock is ticking for Stephensville, like most small towns located along backwater tributaries.
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Mississippi flooding drowns crops and casinos: What's the economic toll?
The economic toll of the Mississippi River flooding has yet to be calculated, as the crest pushes past Memphis towards New Orleans, but is expected to run in the billions.
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