Louisiana

The prison once deemed the most violent in America hosted the nation’s largest gathering of inmates and their children on Saturday to promote reconciliation and healing within families.

The Returning Hearts Celebration reunited more than 500 kids with their incarcerated dads at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for a special day of activities and bonding. The annual event enables fathers who may not have seen their sons or daughters in years to seek forgiveness and build connections in an effort to break the cycle of familial crime.

“These fathers do not want their children to end up in prison,” says Jack Eggar, president and CEO of Awana Lifeline prison ministry, which initiated the Returning Hearts Celebration. “So they are intentional in encouraging and teaching their children to pursue a life of character and faith.” more >>

The prison once deemed the most violent in America will be hosting the nation’s largest gathering of inmates and their children next month to promote reconciliation and healing within families.

The Returning Hearts Celebration is expected to reunite more than 1,000 kids with their incarcerated dads at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for a special day of activities and bonding. The annual event enables fathers who may not have seen their sons or daughters in years to seek forgiveness and build connections in an effort to break the cycle of familial crime.

“These fathers do not want their children to end up in prison,” says Jack Eggar, president and CEO of Awana Lifeline prison ministry, which initiated the Returning Hearts Celebration. “So they are intentional in encouraging and teaching their children to pursue a life of character and faith.” more >>

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has announced its plans to reach out to youth along the Mississippi River through a series of day-long music festivals this summer.

Featuring some of America’s most popular hard rock and hip-hop Christian artists, “Rock the River” will kick off in Baton Rouge, La., and move along the Mississippi River, going as far as Minneapolis. In addition to groups such as Skillet and Flyleaf, the festivals will also feature a positive message of hope and encouragement from Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the BGEA.

“A lot of drugs travel through here and our youth are caught up in them," says Dr. Roddy Conerley, executive director of the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge, according to the BGEA. more >>

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Have a pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator? Don't keep your iPod earbuds in your shirt pocket or draped around your neck - even when they're disconnected. A study finds that some headphones can interfere with heart devices if held very close to them.

They might even prevent a defibrillator from delivering a lifesaving shock, say doctors who tested them.

"Headphones contain magnets, and some of these magnets are powerful," said the study's leader, Dr. William Maisel, a cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a heart device consultant to the federal Food and Drug Administration. more >>

NEW ORLEANS – Bill Vogel predicted the third year after Hurricane Katrina would be the toughest for his French Quarter gallery. He just didn't think it would be this bad — tough enough for him to consider getting out.

It's not just the pace of recovery and higher costs of doing business that worry Vogel and other small business owners in the Quarter; they've been coping with that since 2005. It's the national economic uncertainty dampening the industry they rely on — tourism, one of New Orleans' top sectors.

"One more year," Vogel said as a couple admired — but did not buy — several paintings in the cozy shop he's run for a decade, Gallery of Light. "If it doesn't turn, I will think about moving on." more >>

This past December of 2007, I participated in my first major volunteer trip organized by two enterprising students from my high school TanenbaumCHAT. The goal was to travel to New Orleans to help repair the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina three years earlier. While there, we were able to see first hand the damage to many of the houses and neighborhoods in and around the main city. It made quite an impression because many of the homes were smashed, askew, or even washed away.

The trip was a memorable one. Our group worked at a number of sites during our four day stay, working both to demolish the remains of unsalvageable homes as well as repair the ones that could be saved. We met some of the house owners and many neighbors; everyone was extremely grateful for our help. We felt like we were having a direct positive impact on these people’s lives.

Overall I think the trip was definitely a success- a big thanks belongs to the National Relief Network which not only made it possible to volunteer in New Orleans but helped the entire trip to run very smoothly. I would definitely consider going back to volunteer in New Orleans again in future years. more >>