At least six killed as Hurricane Laura thrashes Louisiana

One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the US, Laura barreled across Louisiana today, shearing off roofs, killing at least six people and maintaining ferocious strength while carving a destructive path hundreds of miles inland. A full assessment of the damage wrought by the Category 4 system was likely to take days, and the threat of additional damage loomed as new tornado warnings were issued after dark in Arkansas and Mississippi. But despite a trail of demolished buildings, entire neighborhoods left in ruins and almost 900,000 homes and businesses without power, a sense of relief prevailed that Laura was not the annihilating menace forecasters had feared. "It is clear that we did...