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.

Kirk Douglas petitions symbolic gesture. Long-time actor Kirk Douglas is using his MySpace page to help generate support for a national apology by the United States government for its involvement in slavery. Douglas, whose talent has earned him roles in everything from old Western flicks to TV shows like “Touched by an Angel” and a voice part on “The Simpsons,” is collecting signatures. The Oscar-nominated legend plans to eventually send his petition to the president. Douglas, 91, is the father of actor Michael Douglas.

Taraji Henson provides woman with food, shelter. A Hurricane Katrina survivor has three months of rent-free housing courtesy of actress Taraji Henson. Henson, who co-starred in Baby Boy and Hustle & Flow, was in New Orleans filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button when she met the single mom and her children. “This woman lost everything during Katrina and came back and got her little apartment,” Henson says. “She had two daughters she was raising by herself and then her apartment caught on fire, so she lost everything twice. I wanted to give her something besides toys because where would they put it? They didn’t have anywhere to stay.”

Snoop owes actor Russell Crowe a favor. Rapper Snoop Dogg will have to speak to a group of Australian children as partial repayment of a favor to Gladiator star Russell Crowe. Snoop expects to tour the continent late next month after recently having his ban from the country lifted. Crowe, who lives in Australia, helped plead Snoop’s case to the government, calling the rapper a “friend.” “I submit to you that Snoop Dogg poses no threat to Australia or to any individual in this country,” Crowe wrote in a letter. “He has toured here three times before without incident and there are no reasons to assume this tour will be anything but the positive experience the last three have been. Snoop has built a stellar reputation with promoters and audiences worldwide.” Crowe added that he had a “selfish motivation” as well, saying that Snoop promised to appear at a youth charity event for Crowe’s South Sydney Rugby League Club. He wrote:  ”Some of our First Grade players will attend with him and he will deliver a powerful and positive message about rising through adversity, drawing on his own underprivileged background as an example. As you can imagine, such a visit will have a phenomenal effect.” Snoop had been banned due to his criminal record.

Hurricane Gustav visited New Orleans but left it relatively unscathed

Eager to get back to the Big Easy, thousands of residents poured back into New Orleans following the city’s encounter with Gustav. But Mayor Ray Nagin was forced to back down from his own decree - that New Orleanians wait until checkpoints were officially lifted before returning - as traffic flooded the Causeway toward the city. By midnight, the surge was seemingly unstoppable for homesick residents, and eight hours later, Nagin gave up. “No one will be turned back if you have an identification card that you live in this area,” Nagin said in a radio interview. “This is not the best time for them to return, but so be it.” The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that “Nagin’s unexpected decision caused confusion among motorists and law enforcement agencies in both Jefferson and Orleans, who were helping manage reentry traffic.” There were several reasons that officials wanted to prevent residents from returning to New Orleans so soon after Gustav, including downed power lines, flooding, and no power or running water in some areas. Even at that, the destruction wasn’t even close to that of Hurricane Katrina three years earlier.

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.

Hurricane Katrina: three years later. As New Orleans braces for another potentially destructive storm, we look back to the impact and the progress made in the last three years after Hurricane Katrina here.

BET News Quiz: An HBCU gets millions; McCain gets a surprise endorsement; and Yung Berg was allegedly jumped. Test your knowledge here! 

Police are thankful for saggy pants … this time. Instead of enforcing laws against saggy pants, police departments around the country might want to start issuing pairs of the below-the-butt slacks to hoodlums. In Atlanta Wednesday, police shot and wounded a fleeing 21-year-old suspect as he allegedly turned toward officers and aimed his gun but stumbled while struggling to keep his pants up. Police said that Emmanuel Uzowihe was sprinting down one of Atlanta’s busiest streets when he was felled by officers, stopping traffic. His injuries were not life-threatening, and he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Officers with the department’s Auto Theft Task Force pulled over Uzowihe for an undisclosed traffic violation, Sgt. Lisa Keyes told the Constitution-Journal. Uzowihe jumped from the car and ran down the sidewalk, she said. Police pursued, ordering the suspect several times to stop, she said. A witness, Trevious Grier, said she saw Uzowihe’s weapon as he ran past. “He had a long black handgun he was holding in front of him,” Grier said. “I’ve never seen a gun that big before.” But as soon as he pointed the weapon, an officer shot him twice, police said. But according to witness Darrell Jackson, Uzowihe’s baggy pants is what landed him in the hospital. “He was running pretty fast,” Jackson said. “The only thing that messed him up is he was trying to pull his pants up.” Kelly agreed, saying, “I bet he won’t wear baggy paints again.”

Obama bills are “racist,” some say. A Republican Party leader in Washington state apologized Thursday for phony $3 bill with a picture of Sen. Barack Obama wearing Muslim headgear and sporting a camel that was sold at a booth at a county fair. “I want to apologize to anyone upset or offended by seeing it,” Snohomish County Republican Party Chairwoman Geri Modrell told The Herald newspaper. Underneath the likeness of a smiling Obama is the tag “Da Man,” and there are signatures from purportedly from “Teddy Kennedy, Chief Socialism Advisor” and “Al Sharpton, New Spiritual Advisor.” Modrell said that she asked volunteers to remove them when she discovered them on Tuesday. Some visitors to the fair called the bills “racist” and “offensive.”

Hurricane season could mean tough times for the Big Easy

It’s mere days from the third anniversary of the storm that virtually washed New Orleans from the map and the city is still not fully protected if another Katrina-like killer were to clobber the Gulf Coast, The Associated Press has concluded. There has been “a pattern of public misperception, political jockeying and legal fighting, along with economic and engineering miscalculations” since the 2005 disaster “that threaten to make New Orleans the scene of another devastating flood,” the news agency reports. AP says its glum analysis – that many people have not learned from the public policy missteps after 1965’s Hurricane Betsy, which set the stage for Katrina – was derived at after interviewing dozens of engineers, historians, policymakers and flood-zone residents. “People forget, but they cannot afford to forget,” Windell Curole, a Louisiana hurricane and levee expert, told AP. “If you believe you can’t flood, that’s when you increase the risk of flooding. In New Orleans, I don’t think they talk about the risk.” The news service cites a recent University of New Orleans survey, which found that levee safety was waning among residents’ top worries – bumped off the list by “crime, incompetent leadership and corruption,” AP reports. But the complacency could prove problematic, AP notes. “For the foreseeable future,” it reports, “New Orleans will be protected by levees unable to protect against another storm like Katrina.”

At 108, “Miss Dollie” is still going strong

“Miss Dollie,” as she’s known by family and friends, may be 108 years old, but she’s as sharp as a razor and has much of her physical strength. On Saturday, about 75 people gathered at Ebenezer Church in Atlanta to wish Dollie Wilson Parks a happy birthday, honoring the longtime Atlanta resident who has served as “an inspiration and adviser to generations,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. “Read more about Miss Dollie and the celebration at BET.com/News.

Gov. Crist says that what happened in New Orleans won’t happen in his state.

Residents and vacationers in the Florida Keys are bracing for a powerful storm brewing in the Atlantic that could swell to hurricane strength and pummel the string of tiny islands and Cuba before it’s through. As Tropical Storm Fay began picking up some serious steam early Sunday morning, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) urged folks to pack up and head out. But he assured the world that what happened in the Gulf Coast three years ago would not occur in Florida, saying that emergency workers, including 9,000 National Guard troops, are on standby. In 2005, the Gulf Coast was completely unprepared for hurricane Katrina as it tore the region taking lives and destroying homes and property. Officials at Miami’s National Hurricane Center say that by late Monday or early Tuesday, the storm’s winds and pelting rain could wreak havoc. “My main message today is to remind our fellow Floridians to remain calm,” Crist said Sunday afternoon at state emergency headquarters in Tallahassee. “Florida is prepared. And we are ready. And we’ll be vigilant,” he said.