Free Republic

Thirteen people have been shot at an impromptu memorial service for a man who was murdered earlier this month, authorities said. . . . An 'extremely large' crowd was gathered in a vacant lot on Martin Luther King Drive at East 4th Street to remember Dominique James, 29, investigators said. ... The scene was so chaotic, with wounded people being taken to several different hospitals that investigators haven't been able to find and interview all the wounded people, Tervalon said.

When poor defendants guilty of minor crimes enter Bogalusa Judge Robert Black's courtroom, they are often met with no quarter, according to a federal lawsuit that accuses Black of running an illegal "modern-day debtors' prison." It's pay the fine or immediately begin jail time, with little room to negotiate for those who can't afford to pay. The Southern Poverty Law Center sued Black Tuesday (June 21) in federal court in New Orleans in an attempt to halt that policy, which its lawyers called unconstitutional. They're representing four impoverished defendants worried they'll run afoul of Black at their upcoming hearings."Our clients...

BOGALUSA, La. (AP) — The knock on the door, strong and quick, jolted Barbara Hicks Collins awake. It was the middle of the night. Someone must be in trouble, she thought. She flung open her front door to the shocking sight of her car engulfed in flames.

Like most Louisiana boys, 16-year-old Leyton Page of Bogalusa loves the outdoors. Unlike most anyone, Page is a genuine hero. Page lived with his father until two weeks ago when the Pine High School student came home to find his father dead of natural causes. His grandfather also died in February, and Page was understandably blue after losing what another relative called "the two most important men in his life." Following their deaths, the grieving sportsman bought a 12-gauge shotgun for hunting. Around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Page took his boat out on to the usually placid, dark water of the...