While Jena Sheriff says he is trying to rid his community of drugs, critics accuse him of exacting revenge against Black residents. At 4 a.m. on July 9, 2009, more than 150 officers from 10 different agencies gathered in a large barn just outside Jena, Louisiana. The day was the culmination of an investigation that Sheriff Scott Franklin said had been going on for nearly two years.

In a groundbreaking decision, a <strong>federal judge</strong> ruled late Wednesday that the <strong>Army Corps of Engineers'</strong> mismanagement of maintenance at the <strong>Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet</strong> was directly responsible for flood damage in <strong>St. Bernard Parish</strong> and the <strong>Lower 9th Ward</strong> after <strong>Hurricane Katrina</strong>.<!--more-->

A <strong>Louisiana justice of the peace</strong> who drew criticism for refusing to marry an <strong>interracial couple</strong> has resigned. <strong>Keith Bardwell resigned</strong> in person at the Louisiana secretary of state's office. <!--more-->