JANET MCCONNAUGHEY

Associated Press
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La. seafood board may buy N.O. arena naming rights

The Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board says it may use some of the $30 million it received from BP PLC after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill to buy naming rights for the New Orleans Arena, where the NBA's Hornets play.

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Rescued La. black bear shot to death after release

A scrawny 2-year-old Louisiana black bear that was able to regain its health at a rescue center was shot to death in December, about eight months after it was released into the wild.

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Alabama man in post-BCS video bonds out of jail

Jail officials have released on bond an Alabama man accused of committing sexual battery on an unconscious LSU fan after the BCS championship football game.

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Tiny frog claimed as world's smallest vertebrate

A frog that can perch on the tip of your pinkie with room to spare has been claimed as the world's smallest vertebrate species, out-tinying a fish that got the title in 2006. But the discoverer of another weensy fish disputes the claim.

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2 dead, 61 hurt in 40-vehicle New Orleans pileup

Two men died and 61 other people were injured Thursday in a pre-dawn pileup involving about 40 cars, vans and other vehicles on a busy interstate that crosses New Orleans, closing the route for hours both ways, police said.

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Settlement in Elly Mae Clampett Barbie doll suit

The actress who played Elly May Clampett on the "The Beverly Hillbillies" has settled her lawsuit over a Barbie doll that uses the character's name and likeness.

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Thanksgiving fare goes multi-legged at insectarium

The Audubon Insectarium's Thanksgiving turkey has a lot more legs than usual, but they're all in the stuffing.

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Drought, demand from China drive up pecan prices

Expect to pay more for pecan pie this Thanksgiving thanks to drought in parts of the South and big demand from China.

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Hairy, crazy ants invade from Texas to Miss.

It sounds like a horror movie: Biting ants invade by the millions. A camper's metal walls bulge from the pressure of ants nesting behind them. A circle of poison stops them for only a day, and then a fresh horde shows up, bringing babies. Stand in the yard, and in seconds ants cover your shoes.

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Tropical Storm Lee begins pelting Gulf Coast

Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Lee were falling in southern Louisiana and pelting the Gulf Coast on Saturday as the storm's center trudged slowly toward land, where businesses were already beginning to suffer on what would normally be a bustling holiday weekend. The storm could bring as many as 20 inches of rain to some areas.

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Lee's remnants bring fresh flood worries to East

Drenched and dispirited, East Coast residents recovering from Hurricane Irene were stuck under the chugging remnants of Tropical Storm Lee on Wednesday, some of them grudgingly preparing to move to higher ground again as rivers rose while others fled flash flooding.

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Court: Accused La dad threatened slain son as baby

The mother of a wheelchair-bound 7-year-old who was beheaded and dismembered wrote when her son was less than 6 months old that his father — now accused in his killing — wanted him dead because the baby was suffering, court papers show.

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Police: Disabled La. boy, 7, decapitated by dad

A Louisiana man told investigators he decapitated his disabled 7-year-old son because he had grown tired of caring for the boy, who had cerebral palsy and heart problems, needed a feeding tube and used a wheelchair, police said.

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Police: La. man decapitated disabled son, 7

A Louisiana man is accused of bludgeoning, decapitating and dismembering his disabled 7-year-old son and leaving the boy's head near the street so the child's mother would see it — a killing that brought seasoned police officers to tears, authorities said Monday.

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La. jailer taken hostage, rescued by SWAT team

Louisiana authorities say three jail inmates overpowered a guard, cut and stabbed him with homemade knives, and held him hostage for about 2 1/2 hours before a SWAT team broke into the cell and rescued him.

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La. researcher uses light to grow bigger crawfish

A Louisiana researcher looking into ways to produce more and bigger crawfish in the same space said she's had success with lighting the ponds at night and believes her work could pave the way for expanding crawfish farming in cooler areas.

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Despite long wait, flood warnings make an impact

The aftermath of a disaster like the floods that submerged parts of Mississippi or the tornadoes that have wiped out towns in the Midwest and Southeast can leave victims with depression and other ailments. Although the wait was agonizing as floodwaters rose, experts say the extra time makes a difference in the long run.

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Colombian stuck in swamp: Survived on urine, stems

Francisco Piedrahita, a 65-year-old head of a university in Colombia, said he heard searchers and called for help — and answered a shout in Spanish — the morning after he got lost in a Louisiana swamp. But it was three more days before he was found.

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As La. floodwaters rise, crews save osprey chicks

Cindy Ransonet stood tiptoed atop the small boat's cabin and pulled an osprey chick from the nest of a bald cypress tree.

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High sugar prices help US farmers pay off debt

A series of disasters in Australia's sugarcane region and foul weather in Brazil, India and China have driven up world sugar prices, and many U.S. farmers are making enough to pay off loans and buy new equipment.

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Virus kills hordes of crickets raised for reptiles

A virus has killed millions of crickets that are raised to feed pet reptiles and zoo animals, putting some producers out of business and disrupting supplies to pet shops across North America.

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Pre-game jitters? Tailgate wedding for 2 fans

Tailgating crowds all but drowned out the pre-game wedding vows. But newlywed Gloria Darlene Paige looked resplendent in white pantsuit, sporting a black-and-gold beaded headpiece in the Saints' colors.

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Anxiety still rampant in Katrina kids, study says

A startling number of Gulf coast area children displaced by Hurricane Katrina still have serious emotional or behavioral problems five years later, a new study found.

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Whooping cranes may return to Louisiana

The whooping crane — one of the world's most endangered birds and one of the first animals on the U.S. endangered list — could be back in Louisiana's wetlands as early as February under a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal.

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World War II Museum features animals of war

Smoky the Yorkshire terrier, Lady Astor the pigeon and a host of horses and mules whose individual stories are lost to history are among war heroes and heroines featured in the latest exhibit at the National World War II Museum.

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