Excerpts From the Newswires

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11:57 A.M. - STOCKHOLM (AP): The head of the United Nations is urging other countries to help the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Annan asked all countries and other organizations that can help to give their assistance.

10:49 P.M. - (AP): Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared war on looters as 300 National Guard troops landed in New Orleans fresh from duty in Iraq. "These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so, and I expect they will," she said.

11:31 A.M. - NEWARK, CA (AP): A leading risk assessment firm is projecting the economic loss from Hurricane Katrina and flooding in New Orleans at over $100 billion. Risk Management Solutions says the losses are the result of two separate catastrophic events: the landfall of Hurricane Katrina last Monday, and the New Orleans flood which resulted from failure of the levee systems that protect the city.

10:58 A.M. - MOBILE (AP): President Bush has launched his tour of the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast with promises of money and the restoration of order. Bush vows the government will stop the lawlessness in New Orleans. He also says ten and a-half billion dollars in emergency funds being approved by Congress is a small downpayment for disaster relief. As he was embarking on his first-hand look, Bush said he was not looking forward to the trip. In Bush's words, "It's as if the entire Gulf Coast were obliterated by the worst kind of weapon you can imagine."

9:53 A.M. - LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hilary Duff has pledged to donate $250,000 to help Hurricane Katrina victims on the Gulf Coast. The 17-year-old singer-actress will give $200,000 to the American Red Cross and $50,000 to USA Harvest, which is supplying food to shelters, according to a statement released Thursday by publicist Cece Yorke. The latter donation will amount to more than 300,000 cans of food being provided to victims.

9:20 A.M. - BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- In the span of a week, Baton Rouge has become Louisiana's most-populous city -- at least temporarily -- and a big chunk of that growth is likely to be permanent, officials say. Evacuees from the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans area have poured into East Baton Rouge Parish, along with rescue personnel using the city as a home.

6:42 A.M. - BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- There's been a growing chorus of complaints from refugees and the city's mayor, who complain about what they say has been a slow federal response to the hurricane, flooding and lawlessness. Mayor Ray Nagin said last night that the feds "don't have a clue" about what's happening. He added, "Excuse my French -- everybody in America -- but I am pissed."

5:27 A.M. - BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- After helping to triage and evacuate hospital patients in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina's wrath bore down on the city, Louisiana Health Secretary Fred Cerise could only choke back tears. "We have people there that we know we haven't been able to reach yet," he said, his voice breaking and his eyes rimmed red from lack of sleep.