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March 17, 2006 - As we document in our report, "The Mardi Gras Index" (pdf), one of the key barriers to rebuilding in New Orleans is the decimation of the city's health care system. Here are some of the facts: 1) There were 22 hospitals in Orleans Parish before the 2005 hurricanes; only seven remain.

March 16, 2006 - Despite repeated warnings by employees, it appears Halliburton subsidiary KBR exposed U.S. troops to untreated, contaminated water that could have caused "mass sickness and death":

March 16, 2006 - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former tobacco lobbyist, vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature that would raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes to $1 and reduce the sales tax on groceries by half from its current rate of 7%.

March 16, 2006 - As you might expect, mortgage delinquencies in Louisiana and Mississippi are at an all time high as a result of Katrina.

March 16, 2006 - So, it turns out the "major announcement" was just a publicity stunt to get unsuspecting dupes to watch that horrible Hannity and Colmes show on Fox News.

March 15, 2006 - The blogs are lighting up over today's release of a Pew Center poll showing President Bush's approval ratings tumbling to 33% -- a record low for that poll.

March 15, 2006 - Government contracting -- a growing form of privatization, which turns over public work to private interests -- is one of the biggest cesspools of corruption and scandal in our country today.