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Shreveport Times: Police Believe Winnsboro Woman Set Herself On Fire The Shreveport Times is reporting that police are expected to announce that a Winnsboro woman set herself on fire and made up her story about being the victim of a hate crime. Sharmeka Moffitt told police she was attacked while walking in a park in Winnsboro Sunday night. She claimed three men doused her with a flammable liquid, set her on fire, and wrote racial slurs on her car. Moffitt, 20, is in critical condition at a hospital in Shreveport with burns covering 60% of her body.

‘Occupy’ movement pops up in Lafayette On a crisp, clear afternoon in downtown Lafayette Thursday, fewer than a dozen residents gathered at the edge of Parc Putnam on Lafayette Street across from the federal courthouse to show their solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement — a protest movement targeting corporate excess that erupted in New York City early this fall and has spread to dozens of cities across the country and the world. Thursday’s action was organized via social media by Lafayette resident Molly Baumgartner, a local representative of the liberal activist group MoveOn. Group members ranged in age...

Two Metairie men are dead after the S.U.V. they were riding in fell off the Belle Chasse Highway Bridge on Tuesday night according to Louisiana State Police. Jose Gustavo Reyes, 31 and Ronaldo Jimenez, 29, died shortly after 8:30 p.m. after the 1995 Toyota 4Runner they were riding in with two other men fell 40-feet to the ground from the Belle Chasse Bridge.

New Orleans woman fatally shoots armed intruder Posted: Apr 6, 2011 8:35 AM by Nichole Larkey & AP NEW ORLEANS (AP) - New Orleans police say a woman fatally shot a man who had broken into her home. The shooting happened around 7 p.m. Tuesday. Police say the woman had just entered the home with her three children, when an armed intruder broke in a short time later. They say the man flashed a gun and the woman pulled her own weapon and fired at the intruder multiple times. The unidentified man was taken to a hospital where he (was...

Against the advice of his attorneys, convicted murderer Isaiah Doyle took the stand in the penalty phase of his trial in Jefferson Parish this morning and promptly told the jury he was guilty of first-degree murder, had no remorse, and wished he could kill the jury.

Saints bring back RB Deuce McAllister By JThibodeaux Posted: Jan 15, 2010 1:54 PM NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Saints coach Sean Payton says running back and fan favorite Deuce McAllister is back with the team for the playoffs. McAllister practiced at the club's suburban headquarters and could be activated for Saturday's divisional round playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals. Payton confirmed the decision in a text message to The Associated Press. WWL-AM, the radio station that broadcasts Saints games, first reported the move. The 31-year-old McAllister was waived by the team shortly after last season. He has been working out...

DANA POINT, Calif. -- The Pittsburgh Steelers get their opening-night showcase as Super Bowl champions. The oldest rivalry in football has a first-week renewal in prime time. An old AFL-style doubleheader closes out the weekend. That's how the NFL will begin the 2009 season, starting with as juicy a matchup as possible: Pittsburgh hosting the Tennessee Titans, who merely had the league's best record in 2008 and who beat the Steelers 31-14 at Heinz Field in the 15th game of the season.

Man Injured After Lafayette Shooting 18-year old Isaiah Morgan has been arrested in connection with a shooting that happened in Lafayette. Police say just before ten, Morgan robbed a woman in the 100 block of East Pine Street. Then, around 10:30, Morgan was found in a vehicle, with a single gun shot wound to the left leg. Police believe Morgan shot himself in the leg, then claimed he was the one robbed. Morgan faces a charge of Armed Robbery. Around 10:30 PM Monday night, police say a male victim was found bleeding and laying in the parking lot of an...

Robbery victim regrets outcome of arrest On the morning a historic snowfall excited thousands of New Orleanians, Porfirio Martinez lost $87 to an armed robber and watched as a good friend was almost killed by the same gunman. It was the second time Martinez, 35, who moved to New Orleans from Nicaragua in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, has been held up at gunpoint. Many would pack their bags and try their luck elsewhere after twice being a victim. But Martinez counts himself fortunate to be in New Orleans, even if his apartment is in a 6th Ward neighborhood where...

Pecan Island Robbers Have No Way Out Imagine commiting a felony, then realizing there's no way out. That's what happened to a Pennsylvania couple in Vermilion Parish. The Pecan Island Food Store off Highway 82 might look like a good target... it's isolated with no security cameras. But what they lack in some areas, they make up for by location. They're smack dab in between two draw bridges. "It's common knowledge down here that we on an island and we laugh about it and talk about it all the time, no one would rob us. They can't leave," said store...

Bad Cupcakes Two seventeen year old students in Metairie (LA) were busted for a prank gone wrong. On August 29th the two high school seniors allegedly dropped off a pan of laxative-laced cupcakes in the teachers lounge. The school principal removed the contaminated treat before any teacher could sample it. Both students were booked with mingling harmful substances, punishable by up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000. Both are fighting the criminal charges and their expulsion.

In a ruling dated June 25 and first circulated Thursday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the youngest of the seven Native American plaintiffs waited too long after turning 18 to file the lawsuit that attempts to revoke the Redskins trademarks.

Many historians see little chance for McCain David Paul Kuhn One week into the general election, the polls show a dead heat. But many presidential scholars doubt that John McCain stands much of a chance, if any. Historians belonging to both parties offered a litany of historical comparisons that give little hope to the Republican. Several saw Barack Obama’s prospects as the most promising for a Democrat since Roosevelt trounced Hoover in 1932. “This should be an overwhelming Democratic victory,” said Allan Lichtman, an American University presidential historian who ran in a Maryland Democratic senatorial primary in 2006. Lichtman, whose...

June 4, 2008 -- George "Sulu" Takei is speeding to the final frontier of gay marriage - and several "Star Trek" comrades will be by his side. But conspicuously NOT on the guest list is William Shatner, a k a Capt. Kirk.

Ville Platte Burglar Stuck in Vent Posted: May 29, 2008 06:23 PM CDT Ville Platte Police had to un-stick a stuck suspect before bringing him to jail. As you can see from these Ville Platte Gazette photos, 31-year-old suspect Robert Gallow wasn't in very good condition after being pulled from the cooking vent at the L and V store. Gallow had apparently tried to enter the store early Saturday morning, but didn't get very far. He was discovered hanging halfway into the store when workers arrived Saturday morning. After the fire department freed him, Gallow made a brief stop at...

Blanco asked to battle Vitter By PATRICK COURREGES Advocate Acadiana bureau Published: Feb 2, 2008 LAFAYETTE — Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco said this week, among the many things on her post-governorship schedule, she’s been fielding phone calls from people asking her about a 2010 run for the U.S. Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La. Blanco, a Democrat, chose not to run for a second term for governor in 2007 and turned over the reins of state government to Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal in January. She said that she’s been enjoying herself in the weeks since Jindal took...

Nude driver accused of trying to hit troopers June 26, 2007 04:46 PM CDT GONZALES, La. (AP) - A nude driver hit a trooper at a traffic stop in East Baton Rouge Parish and tried to run over two more in Ascension Parish before they ended the early morning chase by shooting out a tire, state police said. Bryan Batulis Jr., 25, of Jennings, remained in the Ascension Parish jail on Tuesday; a deputy said he did not have an attorney listed. He was booked Monday with three counts of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, two each of...

Abandoning The Duke Victim By Alton Maddox Jr. January 25th, 2007 . For daring to pursue a Black woman's rape charges against white males Nifong is being driven out of town and the practise of law A recent “editorial” in the Wall Street Journal was titled “The Michael Nifong Scandal.” This description defies logic. A scandal has a moral connotation. It would apply to the pedophiles in the Catholic Church who masquerade as priests. This term should have no relationship to a prosecutor seeking justice for a sexually abused woman of African ancestry. To be sure, a prosecutor charging white,...

Melancon Versus Romero The Ind's breakdown of the 3rd Congressional District Race By Jeremy Alford | 10/25/2006 The campaign vehicle rolls down Main Street behind the Boucherie Festival’s junior miss queen and the mayor of Sorrento. Groups of people are scattered along the parade route, a mile apart along some stretches, and every time the white Suburban sees an occasional cluster of likely voters, the team goes into action. Three young staffers stuffed into the cargo area launch from the rear and affix campaign stickers to anything standing still. The candidate jumps out of the front seat with a bag...

Terrell Owens is done talking to his position coach. Owens said on his radio show Friday that his relationship with Dallas Cowboys receivers coach Todd Haley was ruined by a blowup this week. It began when Owens missed the start of Wednesday's practice because of an upset stomach, and Haley berated him for being late. Owens held his tongue then, but they later argued during a meeting. The story getting out seems to bother Owens the most because Haley vowed since training camp that all internal matters would stay behind closed doors. Owens spoke with reporters for 45 minutes Wednesday...