Search for bodies ends
The week's news at a glance.
New Orleans
The door-to-door search for victims of Hurricane Katrina ended in New Orleans this week, with Louisiana’s official death toll at 972. Another 221 died in Mississippi. Dozens of crews searched nearly 23,000 buildings across the flooded city. Some locked houses weren’t checked, officials said, but searchers will only go back out if someone reports seeing a body. Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the storm’s financial impact was forcing him to lay off as many as 3,000 New Orleans employees, half the city’s workforce. Nagin said he had no choice—with most of the city still closed, the flow of tax money has stopped. The layoffs are expected to save $5 million to $8 million out of a monthly payroll of $20 million.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native characters
Feature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'
Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers