From the Houston Chronicle: "[New Orleans Mayor Ray] Nagin cautioned that Tuesday would be too early for residents to return to New Orleans, but their homecoming was "only days away, not weeks." He apologized to the Republicans, which put the pagentry of their convention on hold to wait for Gustav to move through the Gulf Coast. 'You know, I think Gustav rained on their parade, on their little party,' said Nagin, a Democrat, who cut his own trip short to his party's convention to prepare for the storm. 'And hopefully they can rekindle. We'd love to host them in New Orleans next week, and they can come down and we can show them how to really do it right.'"

From the Washington Post: "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff arrived in Louisiana today to meet with local officials preparing for the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Gustav, part of an intensifying federal effort to avoid the mistakes made three years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated the state. Chertoff is scheduled to meet this afternoon with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) in Baton Rouge and New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Bush administration officials said. Jindal has cleared the way for federal assistance by declaring a state of emergency and has put several thousand National Guard troops on alert."

GUNNING FOR NEW ORLEANS Because the one thing New Orleans needs most right now is more guns, the NRA has hired private investigators to find the owners of more than 1,000 guns that were seized (out of abandoned homes, police say) in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The organization is also suing Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley. "In the lawsuit, the NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation claim the city violated gun owners' constitutional right to bear arms and left them "at the mercy of roving gangs, home invaders, and other criminals" after Katrina." Only 75 of the gun owners have been found, and the NRA is hoping they will testify at the trial.