Disasters

Rescuers along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast pushed aside the dead to reach the living Tuesday in a race against time and rising waters, while New Orleans sank deeper into crisis and Louisiana's governor ordered storm refugees out of a drowning city.
Hurricane Katrina plowed into the Gulf Coast at daybreak Monday with shrieking, 145-mph winds and blinding rain, submerging entire neighborhoods up to the rooflines in New Orleans, hurling boats onto land and sending water pouring into Mississippi's strip of beachfront casinos.
Additional fire crews arrived Monday at a blaze burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The fire burned more than 400 acres over the weekend near the Gunflint Trail. Despite the fire, it's been business as usual for most outfitters and visitors to Minnesota's canoe country.
It's been 60 years since the world's first use of the atomic bomb. A controversial historical theory re-examines President Truman's true motive for dropping A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
A new study says hands-free cell phones still pose distractions that lead to accidents. This comes at a time when the Minnesota legislature may pass a law to penalize teenaged drivers who use cell phones.
Five people died in boating accidents in Minnesota over the Memorial Day weekend. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Kim Elverum, coordinator of the Department of Natural Resources boat and water safety program.
CenterPoint Energy says it will begin searching for gas pipe connections in the metropolitan area that could be like the one that caused an explosion that killed three people back in December. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Charles Kenow, administrator with the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety.
A natural gas explosion that killed three people last December was due to a metal pipe connector that failed because it was not designed for use on plastic pipe, state officials said Wednesday.
Part of the well known rock formation called the "Devil's Chair" has fallen down. The chair used to stand 30 feet tall along the St. Croix River, and was part of the official logo of the city of Taylors Falls. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Dan Raedeke, one of the owners of Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours.