New Orleans // Current

Al-Jazeera in New Orleans

this is the caption as it exist on al-jazeera The Mississippi river delta of the... more

ksutherland27
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Fifty People, One Question: New Orleans

Director and entrepreneur hoping to expand horizons, while unfolding humanity with... more

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The OxyContin Express

In the season premiere of Vanguard, correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to South... more

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25 days ago
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Obama's Brief Visit To New Orleans Draws Criticism From Locals

President Obama traveled to New Orleans on Thursday to address crowds of locals and... more

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How I Became An Artist and Environmentalist: Blog Action Day

How my art helped plant 1,000 trees in Senegal, Africa

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Obama defends Bobby Jindal

President Obama, speaking to a like-minded crowd in New Orleans, didn’t let them get... more

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Obama's visit to New Orleans drawing criticism

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- President Obama, who as a candidate lambasted the federal government for its response to Hurricane Katrina, is visiting New Orleans, Louisiana, as president for the first time Thursday, and is attracting some criticism of his own.

Four years after Katrina, evidence of the storm's devastation still lingers. About 60,000 properties in New Orleans are still abandoned, and 1,500 people in Louisiana are still living in temporary housing, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Army Corps of Engineers is only a third of the way through a $15 billion system to provide 100-year flood protection for the city.

However, the agency says 76 disputed projects in Louisiana have been resolved since Obama took office, and more than $1.4 billion in aid has been sent to Louisiana, along with more than $160 million to Mississippi.

Still, the length and nature of Obama's visit are drawing ire.

Obama will spend less than four hours in New Orleans -- visiting a charter school and holding a town hall meeting -- before flying to a fundraiser in San Francisco, California. He will not be visiting other areas of the Gulf Coast that suffered damage from Katrina in 2005, such as the Mississippi Coast.

"The people of New Orleans deserve more than a 'drive-through daiquiri' summit with the president," Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, said in a news conference Monday.

And Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana, wrote in a letter to Obama that "if the town hall is the only major event of the visit, I truly think it will be deeply disappointing to most citizens."

White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro said the administration is committed to helping Gulf Coast residents and has ensured financial assistance to the area.

"More than $1 billion in Recovery Act money has been targeted for New Orleans, funding almost 1,000 projects -- work on roads, bridges, Army Corps construction, schools, health centers and more," he said.

Obama also will dispatch senior administration members, including three Cabinet officials, to city events Thursday, according to the White House.NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- President Obama, who as a candidate lambasted the... more