Jurors in accused mass murderer’s trial to be named today. In an Atlanta courtroom today, 12 jurors and six alternates will learn whether they are the ones who will decide the fate of Brian Nichols, the 36-year-old accused of shooting to death his judge, a court reporter and two law-enforcement officials during a daring escape three years ago from the Fulton County Courthouse. When – and if – the trial begins on Monday, as planned, it will begin a long-awaited march toward justice that has been stymied by a series of delays. In addition to the change in judges – from Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller to Judge James Bodiford – defense attorneys convinced the original judge that the state had kicked in far too little for a case of this magnitude, compelling him to shelve the case until it had infused more money into the public defender system. The case is expected to be the most costly in Georgia history. Already, the defense has spent an astronomical $1.2 million, and it’s still nearly a week before trial. In a recent chapter in the case, Bodiford found that Nichols’ alleged confession was not the result of his deteriorated mental capacity following his arrest. The defense is arguing that Nichols is innocent by reason of insanity. Nichols is facing death if convicted.

Nagin wants to know how his residents were treated. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin wants to know how his city’s residents were treated during the latest monster storm, Hurricane Gustav, to rock the Big Easy. As reports have surfaced that some city agencies didn’t learn from dealing with killer Katrina, Nagin has instituted a special phone hotline to gather and grade information on victims’ experiences. “If you evacuated with the city assisted-program, and if you went to a shelter where you want to report something, call our 3-1-1 number,” Nagin said in a news conference. His request came amid widespread reports of unsanitary or inhospitable conditions, mostly at shelters in northern Louisiana, according to The New Orleans Times-Picayune. But many shelter volunteers complained that evacuees threatened them “or acted in an unruly fashion during their stay,” the newspaper reported. The Times-Picayune also speculated that poor conditions at the Department of Social Services shelters could have been what led to the sudden resignation of DSS Secretary Ann Williamson earlier this week. While the city helped transport 18,000 residents out of town, all New Orleanians had the option of staying at DSS shelters.

Tens of thousands sought shelter outside of the Bayou State

With three-year-old Katrina still fresh on their minds, tens of thousands of Louisiana residents fled the wind-whipped, water-soaked Bayou State Monday seeking safer ground in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. As an angry Hurricane Gustav barreled down on their homes, businesses neighborhoods, they traveled by car, train, bus and plane, determined not to be the ones seen on TV waving for helicopter rescue squads to deliver them. As many as 82,000 Louisiana residents crammed into shelters spread across eight states, according to Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman for the state. She told CNN that the Louisiana Department of Social Services had set up two shelters, including two in Shreveport, one in Bastrop and one more in Monroe – holding 10,000 people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hooked up with the Red Cross to administer services from shelters in Shreveport and Alexandria – holding 5,000 people. According to Mississippi state officials, some 12,400 Louisiana residents had flowed into the state. Officials set up a phone registry so that people can find out where their relatives and loved ones are located. The number is 1-800-258-9822. State officials want residents to stay in their homes – even after Gustav passes by. “They’ll let people know when it’s safe to return,” Stephens said. This is important, she said because there are still dangers from threats posed by downed power lines and trees, floodwater and debris. “It’s really crowded, and everybody’s just trying to do their best,” Kesha Harlow, who was there with her daughter, 8, and her son, 2 months. “We’re just waiting for the storm to blow over.” New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has appealed to those who fled to stay put until the end of the week, which will give workers time to secure weakened levees and downed power lines and drain flooded streets.

Gulf coast braces for the “Storm of the Century”

With close to 300,000 people evacuated from New Orleans by train, bus and automobile, the city hit three years ago by Hurricane Katrina is now a ghost town. Read about safety and storm preparations to brace for what Mayor Ray Nagin calls “the Storm of The Century” here.

Gustav is making waves for Republicans.

Sen. John McCain has called for the Republican Party to scale back its convention in Minneapolis , citing Hurricane Gustav’s potential to inflict “a great national disaster” on the people in the Gulf Coast region.

MoveOn.org targets McCain VP pick. The activist political group, which has an uncanny knack for getting on a Republican politician’s last nerve, has turned its sights on Sen. John McCain and his recently announced running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Saying that the American people “need to see” the facts about the new GOP veep, MoveOn.org has taken the Republican Party’s biggest charge lodged against Sen. Barack Obama and turned it against Palin: an apparent lack of experience. The woman McCain has chosen to be “one heartbeat away from the presidency” is “a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of [ Wasilla , Alaska ] a town of 9,000 people.” The liberal-leaning political group, established in the aftermath of President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, notes that Palin, who hopes to rein in some of the former Clinton-supporting women who aren’t too hip on Obama, is a staunch opponent of abortion, even in the case of rape and incest. It also points out that Palin was a strong supporter of Pat Buchanan, who has been publicly flogged on more than one occasion for racially insensitive comments. In other examples of extremism, MoveOn.org notes, Palin does not believe humans are responsible for climate change. “How closely did John McCain vet this choice?” the group asks on its Web site. “He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.” But what MoveOn.org doesn’t acknowledge is that the 44-year-old governor, the first woman ever to get a major-party nomination as vice president, helped create a new sub-cabinet group of advisers to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions within Alaska . In late-July a state poll showed her with an 80-percent approval rating.

As it batters Jamaica, Haiti’s death toll from the storm passes 50.
Tropical Storm Gustav batters the Caribbean. Tropical Storm Gustav slammed the island nation of Jamaica Thursday and ripped through its Caribbean cousin, Haiti, claiming more than 50 lives in its wake, reports CNN. The storm, whose intensity in Jamaica came just short of hurricane strength, was 15 miles away from Kingston (although residents report suffering little physical damage from the storm). Before it hit, Jamaican authorities evacuated residents in low-lying areas, said a spokesman for the military. But Gustav was a full-fledged hurricane when it hit Haiti Tuesday. Haitian officials announced Thursday that the country’s death toll rose from 14 people to 51.  Six children are among the dead, according to the government, and 6,500 residents are living in shelters. The storm lost its strength over Jamaica, but it could pick up strength and become a hurricane by today, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters say the storm could dump 2 to 4 inches over Cuba and 6 to 12 inches over Jamaica. The Hurricane Center’s projection models illustrate the storm could hit Louisiana by Sunday afternoon, almost three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. The National Guard is sending 3,000 members there to get ready for the storm.

Co-ed schools banned in part of Nigeria. A Nigerian state has decided to get rid of co-ed schools, citing teen pregnancy and low-academic achievement as reasons, reports the BBC. The ban, which would affect all junior and senior schools, was passed last week by lawmakers in the country’s Bauchi State. Private schools are not affected. Teens have a hard time controlling sexual urges, said Aminu Tukur a Bauchi lawmaker in favor of the ban. Bauchi is governed by the Islamic Sharia law (under the frame of this system, courts recently ruled a Nigerian man with 86 wives had to choose only four and repent, or face death). Christians, a minority in the state, are against the ban, saying teens are able to meet up at other places too, not just schools. No word yet on when the co-ed schools will have to turn single sex. Students will head back to school next week