Articles by Melissa Nelson-Gabriel and Michael Kunzelman

Hundreds Rescued From Flooding in Florida Panhandle, Coastal Alabama

People were plucked off rooftops or climbed into their attics to get away from fast-rising waters when nearly 2 feet of rain fell on the Florida Panhandle and Alabama coast in the span of about 24 hours, the latest bout …

Chinese Drywall Maker Questions Product Liability Ruling

A Chinese drywall manufacturer asked a federal appeals court on Oct. 9 to overturn a judge’s ruling that U.S. courts have jurisdiction over claims that its defective product wrecked thousands of homes. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit …

Louisiana High Court Strikes Down Immigrant Driver Law

The Louisiana Supreme Court has struck down a state law that made it a crime for people who aren’t U.S. citizens to drive here without carrying proof of their immigration status. The divided court ruled that the state law is …

Ex-Halliburton Manager Pleads Guilty in BP Case

A former Halliburton manager pleaded guilty on Oct. 15 to destroying evidence in the aftermath of the deadly rig explosion that spawned BP’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Anthony Badalamenti, 62, of Katy, Texas, faces a …

Defective Drywall: Chinese Maker Questions Ruling

A Chinese drywall manufacturer asked a federal appeals court on Oct. 9 to overturn a judge’s ruling that U.S. courts have jurisdiction over claims that its defective product wrecked thousands of homes. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit …

BP Sets up Anti-Fraud Hotline for Spill Claims

BP has set up a hotline for people to report alleged fraud involving claims arising from the company’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The July 15 launch of the hotline comes a week after a federal …

Halliburton Seeking Settlement Over Gulf Oil Spill

BP’s cement contractor on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 announced that it is trying to negotiate a settlement over its role in the disaster, a focus of trial testimony that ended last week. …

Judge Chides Army Corps over New Orleans Levees

The Army Corps of Engineers built a “tragically flawed” levee system for New Orleans – but isn’t liable for claims that excavation work by a government contractor weakened a floodwall and caused it to breach in two places during Hurricane …

Rig Worker: Training Saved Lives After BP Blowout

A Transocean employee who served as chief mate on the Deepwater Horizon testified in New Orleans that he believes the rig crew’s emergency training saved lives following the 2010 explosion that killed 11 workers and triggered America’s worst offshore oil …

Claims Against BP Contractors Dismissed at Trial

A federal judge conducting a trial to assign fault for the nation’s worst offshore oil spill dismissed claims against a BP contractor and the company that made a key safety device on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf …