Clarence ”Gatemouth” Brown, the famed Louisiana-based singer and guitarist known for Cajun music, blues and jazz, has died in Texas after leaving New Orleans to avoid the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. The Grammy Award-winner died on Saturday aged 81, according to media reports.
The toll of Hurricane Katrina deaths in four American states has risen to 513, after Mississippi announced a further four deaths on Monday. Meanwhile, another storm, Ophelia, inched toward the United States east coast on Monday, prompting authorities to post storm warnings, ready troops and urge residents to leave isolated islands.
Wilbert Rideau, imprisoned since the days ”whites only” signs hung across the South in the United States, enjoyed his first full day of freedom, after a jury effectively decided he had been punished enough for a killing that continues to divide his hometown along racial lines.
