Louisiana

A view inside the UpStairs Lounge after the fire that killed 32 people on June 25, 1973. Many of the victims were there for a meeting of the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBT-affirmative church founded by the Rev. Troy Perry.

Out Of Ashes, An Unwavering Resolve: 'That's The Legacy. We Never Ran Away'

NPR Staff

Before the Orlando shooting, the deadliest attack on LGBT people in the U.S. happened at a New Orleans gay bar. Decades later, a pastor recalls the fire's brutal 鈥� but, somehow, hopeful 鈥� aftermath.

Burnell Cotlon, 48, visited StoryCorps in New Orleans with his mother, Lillie. Before he opened his store the area had gone nine years without a grocery store.

In New Orleans' Hardest-Hit Neighborhood, A Recovery 鈥� By Sheer Will

NPR Staff

Nine years after Hurricane Katrina, the area still had no grocery store. So, using his savings, Burnell Cotlon opened one himself. "If there's a problem," he says, "somebody's got to make a move."

Brian Nelson, 50, at his home in Chicago. Five years after he was released from solitary confinement, he says it's still hard to be around people.

NPR 暗黑爆料

From Solitary To The Streets: Released Inmates Get Little Help

Joseph Shapiro

An investigation by NPR and The Marshall Project found that many states don't keep track of how many inmates are released directly from solitary confinement without any transition or supervision.

Music

New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival Is Vital To The Blues

The New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival is a major event on America's festival calendar, each year it attracts a huge crowd and many great acts of many鈥�

Music

The Brass Tacks Of New Orleans Bands

There was a time in the city known for being without rules, New Orleans, that there were some rules for brass bands. Those days are gone.New Orleans brass鈥�

A short phrase New Orleans musicians use to communicate is identical to a common mockingbird call.

Who Sang It First? Mockingbirds And Musicians Cover Each Other In New Orleans

Eve Abrams

The mockingbird is known for latching on to sounds and repeating them. But in the case of a certain four-note phrase New Orleans musicians use to communicate, the bird may be the original artist.

Sen. Mary Landrieu greets candidates Rep. Bill Cassidy (left) and Rob Maness after Tuesday's debate. Most observers don't see how Landrieu can pull enough support to avoid a runoff in the state's open primary.

In Increasingly Red Louisiana, Democrat Landrieu Struggles To Hold On

Debbie Elliott

The senator's opponents are tying her to President Obama's unpopular health care and other policies, while she tries to focus on how she's different. Her race will help decide control of the Senate.

Levees, like this one in New Orleans, must be certified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before appearing on federal flood maps. This change has resulted in higher flood insurance premiums in some areas.

NPR 暗黑爆料

FEMA Flood Insurance Law Faces Partial Repeal Over Premiums

Ailsa Chang

The law, passed in 2012, was meant to shift the financial risk of insuring flood-zone properties to homeowners. But some residents' premiums have skyrocketed.

NPR 暗黑爆料

Through The Internet, Gay Teens Connected To Larger Community

Steve Henn

Chat rooms and websites offered support for many gay kids growing up in small towns in the 1990s who felt detached from their peers. In the span of 20 years in the same Louisiana town, one teen today has had a very different experience than a woman who grew up there in the '80s.

NPR 暗黑爆料

Dying 'Angola 3' Inmate Freed After Decades In Solitary

Scott Neuman

Herman Wallace, who spent more than four decades in solitary confinement after his conviction on murder charges related to a 1972 prison riot, is now suffering from liver cancer. A U.S. district judge in Louisiana ruled that Wallace had not received a fair trial.