Orleans

Terry Reed, who had previously been convicted for sexually abusing two other minors, could be imprisoned for 40 yearsSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email A suburban New Orleans religious pastor has been convicted of sexually molesting two minors in what is the third instance of a man called “the worst kind of predator” being found guilty of abusing teen boys.Terry Reed, 66, cited biblical verses and scripture to “manipulate, normalize and justify his sexual behavior” with the two victims at the center of the newest case against him, according to a statement from Louisiana state prosecutors. Continue reading...

Stanley Burkhardt, convicted abuser and ex-investigator of sex crimes against children, gives deposition in civil caseConvicted child molester Stanley Burkhardt – a former investigator of sex crimes against children who has been in and out of prison for decades – invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 700 times while being questioned under oath recently, including when asked whether he committed a series of unsolved murders of youths in his orbit.Burkhardt’s decision to remain silent came when faced with questions about the killings during a deposition in a civil lawsuit by an alleged sexual abuse victim of his – a case aimed at him and the New Orleans police department (NOPD) which used to employ him. Continue reading...

Louisiana’s cultural hotspot could be surrounded by Gulf of Mexico before end of this century, authors sayThe process of relocating people from New Orleans should start immediately as the city has reached a “point of no return” that will see it surrounded by the ocean within decades due to the climate crisis, a stark new study has concluded.Ongoing sea level rise and the rampant erosion of wetlands in southern Louisiana will swallow up the New Orleans area within a few generations, with the new paper estimating the city “may well be surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico before the end of this century”. Continue reading...

Nearly 2,000-year-old artifact handed over by FBI matches piece missing from museum near Rome for decadesA nearly 2,000-year-old Roman grave marker discovered in a New Orleans backyard has now been returned to Italy.The marble epitaph – dating back roughly 1,900 years – was officially handed over to Italian officials in Rome on Wednesday during a ceremony led by the FBI. The event also marked the repatriation of another antiquity recovered in the US, the agency said. Continue reading...

Anthony Odiong is accused of sexually abusing three spiritually vulnerable female congregants in WacoPlans are under way for the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans to remove a priest’s name from a chapel he helped build outside the city as a criminal trial looms in Texas for the clergyman on criminal charges that he sexually abused three spiritually vulnerable female congregants there, the Guardian has learned.Anthony Odiong had reportedly raised $600,000 to build and then open Our Lady of Guadalupe Healing Chapel in Luling, Louisiana, in 2020, while he was the pastor at an adjacent church, years before authorities criminally charged him in Texas, where he had also previously ministered. His name has since appeared on various inscriptions outside the chapel and on the structure itself even as the criminal case against him has progressed toward trial. Continue reading...

Susan Hutson accused of malfeasance and other crimes that enabled 2025 mass escape from Louisiana jailThe sheriff of New Orleans was hit on Wednesday with a sweeping 30-count indictment alleging malfeasance and payroll fraud amid an outside investigation into her office that was prompted by a massive jailbreak nearly a year earlier.The indictment against sheriff Susan Hutson, whose duties include operating the New Orleans jail, was brought by Louisiana state attorney general Liz Murrill. It came days before Hutson was set to leave office, bringing a sudden and sharp conclusion to a tenure that began in 2022 with promises of sweeping reform. Continue reading...

Man from North Carolina arrested at Florida hotel with a handgun and about 200 rounds of ammo, authorities saySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxAuthorities say a man suspected of planning a mass shooting at a large New Orleans festival was arrested at a Florida hotel with a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.The event was not named, but the New Orleans jazz and heritage festival, commonly known as JazzFest, runs from Thursday through 3 May. The gathering celebrates Louisiana’s music, food and culture, and attracted about 460,000 people last year, organizers said. Continue reading...

• Tulane University in New Orleans will host the inaugural US Chagas Disease Meeting on March 26-27, 2026, marking the first such conference on American soil. • The event convenes experts to discuss diagnosis, screening, research, and patient care for Chagas disease, now argued by some to be endemic in the US with approximately 300,000 infected Americans per CDC estimates. • Occurring at a pivotal moment, the meeting aims to boost awareness, improve public health responses, and advance peer-reviewed findings on this neglected parasitic disease.

Prosecutors say they paid ‘slammers’ to intentionally crash into tractor-trailers and file fraudulent lawsuitsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA federal jury in New Orleans has found two personal injury attorneys guilty of involving themselves in a scheme to stage collisions with 18-wheelers and then collect settlement payouts.The lawyers, Jason Giles and former Hollywood stuntwoman Vanessa Motta, were found guilty on Friday of fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, local news outlets WVUE and WWL Louisiana – a Guardian reporting partner – reported. Their law firms were convicted of related charges. Continue reading...

Sara Brannon alleges high school overseen by the Roman Catholic archdiocese was negligent in treatment of her 17-year-old sonA suburban New Orleans woman whose teenaged son died by suicide hours after his Catholic school expelled him in the wake of what he termed a shoving match with a campus bully is pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit against the local archdiocese.Sara Brannon contends that Rummel high school in Metairie, Louisiana, was negligent in its treatment of her son, 17-year-old Devon Shelton, and is therefore owed damages, including for mental anguish as well as physical pain and suffering.In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email [email protected], and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...