As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we're also featuring a great musical talent.

At the Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jack Pena warms up on bassoon for an exciting stretch ahead.

"Finally we are going to get back to full orchestra performance on Oct. 20 in City Park," Pena said.

The Texas native has spent the past 6 years with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, embracing the tradition and culture of New Orleans.

"I would never leave if I had a choice," Pena said. "The LPO does some amazing work for the community, and we're always trying to figure out how we can be better. I think with this city, with so much culture and history we are just trying to contribute the best that we can, so I love being a part of it."

Proud of his Hispanic heritage, Pena has also enjoyed the LPO's efforts to showcase its diversity, both on the stage and in the air.

"Our music director, Carlos Miguel Prieto is Mexican, and he is incredible," Pena said. "You can't find another guy like him. He does an incredible job of bringing us music from composers that are not typically part of the Canaans."

With a full performance calendar planned, Pena can't wait for an eventual return to normalcy with full theaters and the energy of a live audience.

"Oh yeah, that is why I do what I do," Pena said. "So I've been waiting for a long time, and I'm very excited to get back to playing normal shows again."

The season officially gets going Nov. 4 with opening night at the Orpheum Theatre.

Watch the video above for the full story.

The NFC divisional round will give fans a third-time treat: another meeting between old-timers Tom Brady and Drew Brees.

Possibly the final one.

The AFC matchups, meanwhile, will include the Cleveland Browns for the first time since they re-entered the NFL in 1999, and Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

Brees assured that the NFC South rival Saints and Buccaneers will meet once more, throwing for two touchdowns in a 21-9 victory over Chicago. The New Orleans quarterback, who turns 42 on Friday — one year younger than Tampa Bay's star — is toying with retirement, but with the way the Saints defense is playing, a second trip to the Super Bowl is not a long shot.

Tampa Bay (12-5) defeated Washington 31-23 on Saturday. The Bucs will travel to New Orleans (13-4) next Sunday night.

“The minute that he signed with the Bucs and came to the division, you felt like that was going to be a team to contend with, that was going to be a team that would have playoff aspirations and beyond, just like us,” Brees said of meeting Brady in the playoffs for the first time. “So, I guess it was inevitable.”

The other NFC game next weekend will be on Saturday as Green Bay (13-3 and coming off a bye) hosts the Los Angeles Rams (11-6), who downed Seattle this weekend.

In the AFC, Cleveland's return to the postseason for the first time in 18 years went very well. The Browns not only snapped a 17-game skid at Heinz Field, they manhandled the mistake-prone archrival Steelers 48-37 Sunday night. On to face reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City (14-2 and coming off a bye) next Sunday.

After two postseason flops, Jackson was his usual dynamic and decisive self in leading the Ravens to a 20-13 wild-card victory at Tennessee. That sends them to Buffalo on Saturday night.

Browns 48, Steelers 37

In their first playoff road victory since 1969, the Browns (12-5) overcame all sorts of problems and history.

Baker Mayfield threw for three touchdowns and the Browns got their first playoff win in 26 years. Kareem Hunt added two touchdown runs for Cleveland, playing without several high-profile players and head coach Kevin Stefanski due to COVID-19.

It hardly mattered as the Browns raced to a quick 28-0 lead then turned aside Pittsburgh's second-half rally. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed for 501 yards and four touchdowns but also threw four interceptions.

Saints 21, Bears 9

Michael Thomas and Latavius Murray caught Brees' touchdown passes, and Alvin Kamara rushed for 99 yards and a 3-yard scoring run after sitting out the regular-season finale and not practicing this past week because of COVID-19 protocols.

New Orleans (13-4) held Chicago (8-9) to 239 yards, just 48 rushing.

“Our defense played outstanding,” coach Sean Payton said. “We tackled well in space. ... Ultimately we forced them to become one-dimensional, and when you do that you’re going to win a lot of games.”

The Saints won both meetings with the Bucs during the regular season.

Ravens 20, Titans 13

Some first steps are far longer than others. Such as what Jackson achieved Sunday.

He isn't in any way the only reason Baltimore is advancing — the defense shut down 2,000-yard rusher Derrick Henry like no other team has come close to doing. But he was a positive contributor, unlike in losses to the Chargers and Titans in his other playoff appearances.

Jackson ran for 136 yards and a 48-yard touchdown while throwing for 179 more, rallying the Ravens from a 10-0 hole. The Ravens (12-5) went 21 straight losses in either the regular season or playoffs when trailing by 10 or more points.

Despite being sacked five times and throwing an interception, Jackson turned in the sixth 100-yard rushing game by a quarterback in the postseason, and joined Colin Kaepernick with two.

“We stayed focused. We didn’t get rattled. Our coaches didn’t get rattled. We had to put points on the board," Jackson said. “I throw an interception, a dumb interception. We just kept fighting.”

Especially the defense: Henry had his worst performance this season with 18 carries for 40 yards and the Titans (11-6) were held to their fewest points of the season.

“Our defense was tired of hearing the noise,” Jackson said. "And they did what they were supposed to do.”

SATURDAY

Buccaneers 31, Washington 23

In his first postseason game wearing a uniform other than New England's, Brady showed why he was so responsible for the Patriots' two-decade dynasty. While leading his new team, the Buccaneers (12-5), to their first playoff win since Tampa Bay won the 2002 championship, Brady extended his record for playoff victories to 31. He threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns in his 42nd postseason start.

“You could win 100-0 and it’s going to be the same result in the end," Brady said. “You’d love to play great every game; I think it’s good to win and advance. If we don’t play well next week, we’re not going to be happy. Glad we won, glad we have another week of work.”

Bills 27, Colts 24

At Buffalo, there actually was a playoff game played, for the first time in 15 years. And won by the Bills, the AFC East champions for the first time since 1995. Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and scored another rushing, and the Bills (14-3) knocked down a desperation pass by Philip Rivers to end the game.

The Bills have won seven in a row.

“We understand that whatever’s going on in the game, we feel like we’ve got a chance,” Allen said. “That’s just based on how we play, how we trust one another, how we care for one another, how we practice. Just the foundation. ... It is a family-like atmosphere here and we want to do everything in our power not to let each other down.”

Rams 30, Seahawks 20

At Seattle, a staunch defensive performance by the league's top-ranked unit lifted Los Angeles (11-6) into the divisional round. The Rams, even with unanimous All-Pro DT Aaron Donald sitting out much of the second half with a rib injury, rattled Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, sacking him five times and getting a pick-6 from Darious Williams. LA also shut down the Seattle rushing attack.

"We expected to do this," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "Nobody acted surprised.”

NEW ORLEANS —

Residents at an apartment building in New Orleans say they were abandoned after Hurricane Ida knocked out electricity, and the property manager offered little to no assistance to the 40 or so low-income residents. Many are elderly and have acute health conditions that were exacerbated by the oppressive heat after the storm.

Electricity was restored Thursday, but people who suffered through the heat are demanding answers.

"We went through a lot of pain and suffering, couldn't sleep, never got sleep or nothing, man," said Tyrone Webber, a resident at Boyd Manor.

Residents depended on local community volunteers who brought them food, water and ice. Some of the volunteers had been inside the building's apartments and shared videos that showed water on the floor and leaks around window sills.

The volunteers made patchwork repairs, but residents say they have not heard from the property manager about long-term solutions.

"The landlord didn't come here, not one day. We was without lights and everything for 10 days, and she's going to come here today talking about she want rent," resident Yolanda Lewis said.

National Baptist Housing and Economic Development own the property. Its chairman, who is also a local pastor, said he had evacuated from New Orleans for the hurricane and had not been to the residence since the storm.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development financed the property and pays 70% of the rent for tenants, who must qualify as low-income. This means residents did not have the means to evacuate on their own.

However, a representative for the company that manages the building told sister station WDSU that the residents were given information to arrange their evacuation through the city's 311 service. Only one resident chose that option.

The on-site manager has been to the building every day since Hurricane Ida and brought residents food and water, the representative said. Residents dispute that claim, saying volunteers and a council member have been their only sources of aid. One resident said the manager "snuck in through the backdoor."

A community member said conditions were substandard before the hurricane. He, too, said property management has been absent in the storm's aftermath.

Personnel is expected to be sent to complete an assessment of building damage. That process was hindered by the lack of electricity. There was no timeline given for when repairs would be made, but contractors are reportedly expected to be hired if the damages are extensive.

Residents should not be expected to pay their portion of the rent in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, a representative for the company said, adding that she was not aware that the onsite property manager had pressed tenants for payments. She also said she was not aware of residents' claims that problems such as mold, mildew and leaks were present before the storm.

NEW ORLEANS —

Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Louisiana, most of them outside New Orleans, still didn't have power Tuesday and more than half of the gas stations in two major cities were without fuel nine days after Hurricane Ida slammed into the state, splintering homes and toppling electric lines.

There were also persistent signs of recovery, however, as the total number of people without electricity has fallen from more than a million at its peak, while hundreds of thousands of people have had their water restored. AT&T, which suffered widespread cellphone outages after the storm, reported that its wireless network now is operating normally in Louisiana.

As residents struggled to recover, state organizations, church groups and volunteers labored for a ninth day to hand out food, water and other necessary supplies to those left without resources when their homes were destroyed or left uninhabitable.

The disparity in power restoration between New Orleans, where nearly three-fourths of the city had electricity again, and other communities where almost all residents were still in the dark prompted frustration and finger-pointing.

State Rep. Tanner Magee, the House's second-ranking Republican who lives in the devastated city of Houma in Terrebonne Parish, said he's convinced his region is being shortchanged in favor of New Orleans.

"It's very infuriating to me," Magee said.

Though water was running again in his area, most hospitals in the region remained shuttered and the parish was in desperate need of temporary shelter for first responders and others vital to the rebuilding effort, he said.

Warner Thomas, president and CEO of the state's largest hospital system — Ochsner Health — warned that it would be "some time" before hospitals in Terrebonne and Lafourche parish fully reopen. Emergency rooms at the two hospitals, however, were open.

Carnival Cruise Line announced Tuesday that it will keep one of its ships, Carnival Glory, docked in New Orleans through Sept. 18 to serve as housing for first responders.

Kim Bass said the Louisiana heat was the hardest thing to cope with without power at her home in St. John the Baptist Parish. She said she and her husband were using a generator to keep food refrigerated but had no air conditioning. Water service was intermittent.

"So you may have water one minute, then you may not have water for the next two days," she said.

Fuel shortages also persisted across hard-hit areas of the state. More than 50% of gas stations in New Orleans and Baton Rouge remained without gasoline Tuesday morning, according to GasBuddy.com.

Magee said lines to get gasoline to power up generators and vehicles in his parish involve hourslong waits.

The power situation has improved greatly since Ida first hit. In the first hours after the storm, nearly 1.1 million customers were in the dark — including all of New Orleans. With the help of tens of thousands of workers from power companies in numerous states, the state's biggest energy provider, Entergy, has been able to slowly bring electricity back, leaving only 19% of its customers in the region without power as of Tuesday.

For residents in the state's four hardest-hit parishes in southeastern Louisiana, however, that number is little comfort. Fully 98% of those residents are still without power more than a week after Ida slammed onshore with 150 mph winds (240 kph) on Aug. 29.

Power probably won't be widely restored to St. John the Baptist Parish until Sept. 17 and until Sept. 29 to Lafourche, St. Charles and Terrebonne parishes, Entergy said Monday. The parishes are home to about 300,000 people.

In St. John the Baptist, power has been restored to "a small pocket" of customers in the hard-hit town of LaPlace, Entergy Louisiana President and CEO Phillip May said in a Tuesday conference call. He didn't say how many now have power there, but promised the number will rise as crews work their way into the community.

A parade of utility trucks on Tuesday passed by a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in LaPlace that serves as a clearinghouse for donated water, ice and other supplies still desperately needed in the area. One truck was in the parking lot of the hall working to restore electricity.

In contrast, nearly all power has been restored in the capital of Baton Rouge, and only 27% of homes and businesses are still suffering outages in New Orleans. Entergy said it expected to have the vast majority of New Orleans brought online by Wednesday. Once areas such as New Orleans have their power restored, Entergy is moving its crews into communities south and west of the city that saw more widespread damage, May said.

As Entergy worked to get the lights turned on everywhere, the Louisiana Department of Health reported that the number of people without water had fallen from a peak of 850,000 to 58,000, though about 850,000 people were being advised to boil their water for safety. And grocery stores reopened in some places.

Ida's death toll in Louisiana rose to 15 people Tuesday after the state Department of Health reported two additional storm-related fatalities: a 68-year-old man who fell off of a roof while making repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Ida and a 71-year-old man who died of a lack of oxygen during an extended power outage. The storm's remnants also brought historic flooding, record rains and tornados from Virginia to Massachusetts, killing at least 50 more people.

Seven nursing home residents in Louisiana died after being evacuated during Hurricane Ida to a warehouse in the town of Independence where conditions were later determined to be unhealthy and unsafe, according to state health officials who said they've launched an investigation into the facility.

In New Orleans, hundreds of seniors were evacuated from apartments after the electricity went out and some were trapped in wheelchairs on the top floors of their multi-story apartment complexes. The managers of some of the homes for seniors evacuated out of state without making sure the residents would be safe after the storm, New Orleans City Council member Kristin Palmer said Monday.

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday, exactly 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the state and became the deadliest and costliest hurricane to hit the U.S. in recorded history.

Video above: Economic damage from Ida not as bad as feared

The two storms share some key similarities in terms of their date, strength, location and their destructive impact on the region's power grid and water systems. But the major hurricanes also have clear differences in their paths — and New Orleans and its rebuilt levees are different, too, from that fateful day 16 years ago that left over 1,800 people dead.

A day after Ida hit the state, here's an early look at how the two storms compare.

Their strength and path

Though both major hurricanes hit Louisiana, the two storms differ in clear meteorological ways and in their paths through the state.

Katrina first made landfall early on Aug. 29, 2005, as a Category 3 storm with maximum winds of about 125 mph near Buras, Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center said. It had been a Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico and weakened significantly before making landfall, but that prior strength meant that it created a very high storm surge.

Katrina was also huge in geographic size, and hurricane-force winds stretched up to 110 miles from its center.

The storm brought hurricane conditions to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and dumped 8 to 12 inches of rain along its track. Importantly, Katrina caused major storm surge flooding 25 to 28 feet above normal tide levels along parts of the Mississippi coast, and storm surge flooding of 10 to 20 feet above normal tide levels along the southeastern Louisiana coast, according to the National Weather Service.

Ida, meanwhile, made landfall around midday Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph near Port Fourchon, the NHC said. Ida had rapidly strengthened in the 24 hours leading up to landfall but was smaller in size than Katrina, and hurricane-force winds stretched only up to 45 miles from its center.

Ida also moved slower than Katrina. Ida traveled about 100 miles inland in the first 12 hours after landfall Sunday, while Katrina moved about 240 miles inland in its first 12 hours after landfall.

The two storms also differ in the path they took through Louisiana. Ida first made landfall at Port Fourchon, about 40 miles west-southwest of Buras, where Katrina first hit. Ida then moved into Louisiana west of New Orleans, while Katrina pushed east of the city in 2005.

Hurricanes spin in a counter-clockwise direction, and the eastern side of a hurricane has the strongest winds, so New Orleans experienced each storm differently. In 2005, Katrina passed east of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain, so its winds pushed water from the lake south into the city, causing more flooding.

This weekend, Ida passed to the west of the city, bringing stronger winds to New Orleans but also pushing the lake's water away from the city.

"I think that we're going to see the wind damage (with Ida) could be worse than Katrina," CNN meteorologist Judson Jones said.

The levees

The biggest difference between these two storms is that New Orleans and its vital levee system have been remade in the intervening years.

New Orleans sits partly below sea level south of Lake Pontchartrain and is already vulnerable to flooding. A complex system of levees, pumps, canals and floodwalls run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers protects it from regular flooding.

Katrina was so catastrophic primarily because the very high storm surge overtopped the levee system in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes, leading to levee failures and breaches. Most of the breaches were due to erosion from overtopping, but a few breaches occurred before the waters even reached the top of the floodwalls, the NHC said in a post-storm analysis.

The failure of the levee system created extensive flooding and destroyed much of the city.

"Overall, about 80% of the city of New Orleans flooded, to varying depths up to about 20 ft, within a day or so after landfall of the eye," the NHC said.

Since then, the levee and pump system has been revamped to protect against another such failure.

It remains early, but as of midday Monday, the rebuilt levees have largely worked as designed. The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East said that its levees held and were not overtopped during Hurricane Ida. "There have been no issues with our pumps," the authority said. The New Orleans Flood Protection Authority also said the levee system functioned as designed.

Jefferson Parish assessor Tom Capella, who was chairman of the Jefferson Parish council in 2005 and remembers Katrina's devastation, said he had not heard of any such widespread flooding in the parish on Monday.

"As we sit here, if you're looking for the good news, the levees held," he said. "I'm looking out my window and there are shingles down, but I don't see the complete and utter devastation of 6 feet of water in people's houses like we had for Katrina."

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told MSNBC on Monday that clean-up from Hurricane Ida will take a while, but the levee "performed extremely well."

"If we had to deal with a failed levee system this morning, it would be completely unimaginable and thank goodness that is not what we are dealing with today," he said.

Ramsey Green, New Orleans deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure, emphasized the upgraded levee system on Saturday ahead of the storm.

"This is a different city than it was August 28, 2005, in terms of infrastructure and safety," he said at a news conference.

Green called the city's levee system "an unprecedentedly powerful protection for the city," which has three lines of defense: the coast, the wetlands and the levee system.

"I think from that perspective, we need to be comfortable and we need to know that we'll be in a much better place than we were 16 years ago," Green said.

"That said, if we have 10 to 20 inches of rain over an abbreviated period of time, we will see flooding. We don't know at this moment -- we see 15 to 20 inches over 48 hours or less, and we can handle it, depending on the event."

The power grid and water systems

Ida has not caused a catastrophic levee failure, but like Katrina, it still has caused severe damage to the region's power grid and water systems.

In particular, Ida had knocked out electricity for more than a million customers as of midday Monday, according to Poweroutage.US, a site that tracks outages. New Orleans City Council Member Joe Giarrusso said there are eight transmission lines into New Orleans and Jefferson Parish and all eight have been knocked out.

Entergy Louisiana, the company that provides power to 1.1 million customers in Louisiana, said it will likely take days to determine the damage and "far longer" to restore electrical transmission.

"The most dangerous part of a storm is often just after it has passed," Entergy said, because "downed power lines may still be energized."

The outages have also led to water issues, the Sewage and Water Board of New Orleans said Sunday. The board asked residents to limit water usage and said it is "experiencing challenges" keeping up with demand.

Capella, the Jefferson County assessor, said he's concerned that Ida knocked out power and has impacted the water treatment system. "It is clearly significant damage to the power grids and more importantly to the water system right now," he said Monday.

Ida also arrived during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding another variable to the recovery efforts.

Back in 2005, Katrina caused widespread power outages and left about three million people without electricity, including some for several weeks, according to the NHC. The storm also displaced more than a million people in the Gulf region.

The lack of power and water infamously created horrific conditions at a flooded Memorial Medical Center, where 45 bodies were eventually found. The total damage from Katrina was estimated to be $125 billion (or $176.3 billion in 2021 dollars), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In addition, cell service was down for a large swath of the region both during Katrina and in Ida.

"The communications here are similar to what it was after Katrina," Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal said Monday. "The damages are not the same as Katrina but as far as the operations, communications, all cell phones, none of the cell phones are working, phone lines are not working, we have very limited communications ourselves."

Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans Sunday after cutting through the Gulf of Mexico, causing massive disruptions to U.S. oil production before making landfall.More than 95% of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production facilities have been shut down, regulators said Sunday, indicating the massive storm is having a significant impact on energy supply.Six refineries in the New Orleans area — including PBF, Phillips, Shell, Marathon and two Valero refineries — are shut down right now, Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, a Houston-based consulting firm, told CNN Business. "It's now a waiting game to assess whatever wind and flooding damage will be caused as the hurricane passes through the area."The location of Hurricane Ida's landfall is "one of the worst possible for the oil industry" and it could impact the major pipelines that carry fuel from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast markets, Lipow said. The shuttered six refineries "account for about 1.7 million barrels per day of refinery capacity, representing 9% of the nation's total," he said.The other three refineries in the area — Exxon, Placid and Kratz Springs — are in the Baton Rouge area. "They appear to be operating at reduced levels," Lipow said, adding that those three refineries account for about 700,000 barrels per day, roughly 3.5% of U.S. daily consumption.On Saturday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) prepared for the storm by activating its Hurricane Response Team. The agency said it was monitoring offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf as they evacuated platforms and rigs. As of late Saturday morning, personnel were evacuated from 288 offshore platforms. That represents about 51% of the manned facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, according to operator reports that were submitted to the BSEE.To restart operations in the aftermath of the storm, producers will need to get personnel back on site, assess and repair damage and restore utilities, Lipow said. But these initiatives take time, especially under the current conditions.The widespread loss of oil supply from one of America's largest energy hubs is likely to lift prices. U.S. oil prices rose sharply last week ahead of Ida's arrival. Oil futures are set to begin trading at 5 p.m. ET Sunday.

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SWEET HOME FOR A BIRTHDAY. HEY GUYS, SOOU Y MIGHT HAVE BEEN WATCHING WHEN WE FIRST INTERVIEWED JEWELS AND KAREN YOU WSA OUR NEWSCAST KIND OF THIS IS INCREDIBLE TO BE IN THIS MOMENT WALK US THUGHRO WHAT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW? OKAY. WELL WE WERE WATCHING THE NEWS ACTUALLYRY TING TO DECIDE WHETHER WE’RE GONNA LIKE TRY TO GET ON THE CAR AND LEAVE TO GO TO FLORIDA TONIGHT OR NOT AND MY DAUGERHT SHARES THE SAME BIRTHDAY AS JEWELS, AND SO IT’S JUST REALLY STRUCK A CHORD, YOU KNOW, AND AS THE YOUNGEST OF FIVE KIDS AND I JUST SAID THIS COULBED DAUGHTER SITTING STRANDED AT THE AIRPORT AND WE HAD TO HELP SO I CALLED THE NEWS STATION AND FIGURED OUT HOW WE COULD COME HELP. JEWELS WEET M AT THE AIRPORT AND HEREE W ARE AND IT’S LIKE A MIRACLE HPENEAPD AND RIGHT NOW WHAT’S GOING THROUGH YOUR HEART. I MEAN THE EMOTIONS. YEAH, I FEEL PRETTY GOOD. I MISSED MY MOM. SO I’M HAPPY THAT I HAVE SOMEONE WHO’S GONNA KIND OF TAKE CARE OF ME TAKE CARE OF THE FRIENDS THAT I’VE MEAD MAKE ME FEEL SAFE BECAUSE FIRST TIME IN NEW ORLEANS GETNGTI HIT WITH A HURRICANE, NOT REALLY THE WAY I WANTED TO SPEND MY BIRTHDAY. SO I FEEL A LITTLE BETTER KNOWING THAT I’M TAKING CARE OF. AND HAVE YOU GOTTEN CHOKED UP OVER THIS I ANME SO MUCH ON THE WAY HERE. I MEAN, I WAS JUST YOU KNOW, SHE’S LIKE MOMS YOU THIS IS LIKE IT JTUS FEELS SO GOOD RIGHT I SAID, WELL, THIS IS WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT. SO HELPING THAT, YOU KNOW HELP IN THE NEXT PERSON. SO FOR SURE AND YOU’RE FIGHTING BACK TEARS RIGHT NOW, YES, LITERALLY, I’M VERY EMOTIONAL RIGHT NOW JUST FEEL SO GOOD TO BE ABLE TO HELP SOMEBODY. WHO’S SCARED RIGHT NOW AND NEEDS? SHELRTE THE DEFINITION OF LOUISIANA I MEAN, THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT, RIGHT? 100% AND YOUR BIRTHDAYS I AUGUST 30TH. YES. AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS SUCH A DIFFICULT TIMEOR F SO MANY PEOPLE BUT IT’S A TIME TO COME TOGETHER AND WE’VE BEEN THROUGH SO MHUC IN THIS PAST YEAR YEAR TWO AND THINKING CKBA TO 2005 AS WELL TOUCH ON THE SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA IN THE SPIRIT OF NEW ORLEANS. WELL,OU Y KNOW THEY SAY NEW ORLEANS. I MEAN EVERYBODY COMES HERE AND THERE WE SO FRIENDLY AND THIS IS YOU KNOW, THISS I JUST SOMETHING FOR ME BORN AND RAISED IN LOUISIANA AND NEW ORLEANS. IT JUST FELT LIKE THE THING, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS NO QUESTIONO N QUESTION AT ALL. I MEAN IF WE COULD HELP THEN WE’RE HERE TO HELP SO DEFINITELY THE SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA, SO WE’RE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT. I’M JUST REALLY GRATEFUL THAT SOMEBODY WITH I HAD SO NYMA PEOPLE LIKE PEOPLE WERE STALKING ME ON FACEBOOK REACHING OUT TO ME. LIKE DO YOU HAVE PLACE TO GO YOU NCA HAVE MY APARTMENT. I WAS LIKE, WHOA, SO I FEEL SO GOOD KNOWING THAT I’M HERE AND I’M TAKING CARE OF BECAUSE I ANME IN CHICAGO I COULD ONLY WISH THAT PEOPLE WOULD HAVE THIS SPIRIT TO LIKE TAKE CARE OF EREVYONE ELSE, BUT I’M HAPPY I GET TO ESCAPE. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME ABSOLUTELY, AND IT’S JUSTOR F PEOPLE WHO AREN’T AWARE. SHE YOU HAVE A GUEST HSEOU THAT YOU’RE ABLE TO HELP HER OUT WITH. YETH. S. MY SISTER HAS AN APARTMENT IN LAKEEWVI. SO IT’S CLOSE TO WHERE WE’LL BE. AND SO WE’LL BE ABLE TO YOU KNOW, CHECK ON HER. I’M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT GR OCERIES ARE OPEN AND GO GET SOME PROVISIONS, BUT YOU KNOW, WE CAN CERTAINLY SHARE WE WE’VE GOT ENOHUG FOOD AT HOME. SO WE’LL BE ABLE TO YOU KNOW. COOKND A YEAH, LIKE WE DO IN NEW ORLEANS FOR A HURRICANE, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE’LL JUST MAKE THE BEST OF IT. GUYS, I KNOW IT’S LATE. I’LL LET YOU ALL ALL KIND OF GET YOUR THE SITUATED SO GUYS YOU CAN SEE IT LIVE RIGHT THERE. IT’S JUST LIKE I SAID THE SPIRIT OF NEW ORLEANS THE SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA HOW THIS ALLIN KD OF WORKS OUT JULES BEHIND ME. SHE WAS STRANDED ANDT I LOOKS LIKE SOME OTHER LADIES THAT ALSO WERE FROM NEWOR YK CITY OR ALSO KIND OF BNGEI HELPED OUT AS WELL. THEY’RE ALL KIND OF GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE A PLACE TO STAY DURING THIS RRHUICANE. SO MANY THINGS ARE KINDF O UP IN THE AIR, BUT THEY WEER ABLE TO KIND OF ALL WORK IT OUT. UYO CAN SEE RIGHT NOW. THEY’RE LOADING UP THEIR LUGGAGE AS WE SPEAK AND LOANGDI INTO THEIR CAR AND THEY’RE GONNA HAVE A PLACE TO STAY BECAUSE RHTIG NOW ALL THE FLIGHTS YOU’RE IN. NEW ORLNSEA TOMORROW THEY ARE CANCELED. SO IF YOU WERE PLANNING ON TRYING TO GET IN OUT OF TOWN BY THE AIRPORT, YOU COULD NOT DO THAT BECAUSE OF ALL THEHE T FLIGHTS THAT WERE SETO T THE AIRPORT DAN ESSENTIALLY A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST HAD NO WAY TNOO IDEA HOW THEY WERE GOING TO DO THIS. YEAH WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO HOW THEY WERE GOINGO T GET OUT OF TOW BUTN, THERE YOU GO. RIGHT THERE. SOMEONE SAW THE STORY LIVE AND EYTH’RE ALL KIND OF PACKING IN SUV AND THEY WERE GNGOI TO BE HEADINGUT O RIGHT HERE LIVE AND INSTEAD OF SLEEPING IN THE AIRPORT. I DON’T EVEN KNOW I’D REACHED OUT TO AIRPORT OFFICIALS IF THEY WERE EVEN GOING TO ALLOW THEM. TO DO THAT, BUT THERE YOU HAVE IT AND THEY HAVE A PLACE TO STAY FOR THE NIGHT FOLLOWING THIS STORY RIGHT HERE ON W. ISSUE AND LOOKS KELI THEY’RE GOING TO BE PULLINGUT O ANY ANY MOMENT NOW AND GINA SAW IT’S PRETTY POWERFUL AND PRETTY EMOTIONAL TO SEE. HAS HAPPEDNE THEY’RE PRETTY INCREDIBLE. REMARKABLE AUBREY YOU ARE RIGHT. ABSOLUTELY A MIRACLE. I JUST WANT TO PAUSE AND KIND OF LET THIS MOMENT SINK IN I KWNO RIGHT FEEL THE SPIRIT AND THE LOVE TAKE A LOOK AND IF YOU ARE SEE THE SHOTIG RHT THERE AND I LOVE KAREN COMING TO THE RESCUE. THKAN YOU KAREN. I MEAN SAW THE STORY. HAD SOME AVAILABLE SPACE AND NOT ONLY JUST FOR JEWELS BUT FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHO WEER STUCK AS WELL. THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT. THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF SOUTH, LOUISIANA JUST LOUISIANA AND GENERAL PARTICULARLY WHEN WE ARE FACED WITH, YOU KNOW, DAUNTING CHALLENGES. WE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, FIND IT IN OUR HEARTS OR MAKE A WAY TO HELP WHERE WE CAN PEOPLE GETTING UNIFIED AND COMING TOGETHER. WE OFTEN SEE STORIES LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW AFTER THE STORM GINA WHEN NEIGHRSBO ARE HELPING NEIGHBORS STRANGERS HELNGPI STRANGERS AND BECOMING FRIENDS AND FALIMIES AND EVERYONE’S AFFECTED IN SOME STOR

Woman stranded at airport for her birthday given refuge as Hurricane Ida approaches

Jules Marshall, a woman traveling alone from Chicago for her birthday, was stranded in the airport after her flight home got canceled. New Orleanians swooped in to help.

Updated: 7:05 AM EDT Aug 29, 2021

A woman was given refuge by a family in Louisiana after her flight back to Chicago was canceled as Hurricane Ida approaches the Louisiana coast.Jules Marshall, a woman traveling from Chicago for her birthday, found herself stranded in New Orleans International Airport (MSY) with no resources in the area.Sister station WDSU worked with Marshall to find her a safe place to stay as Hurricane Ida looms ahead.A person watching the report on Marshall reached out and offered her and a few others stranded at the airport refuge.Karen Sulzer, whose daughter shares the same birthday as Marshall, felt connected to Marshall and decided to lend a hand."There was no question. If we can help, we're gonna help," said Sulzer.Sulzer's sister reportedly has an apartment nearby her home that is open, so Marshall and a few others will be staying there to wait out the storm.Hurricane Ida is expected to make landfall Sunday afternoon as a category 4 on the coast of Louisiana.

A woman was given refuge by a family in Louisiana after her flight back to Chicago was canceled as Hurricane Ida approaches the Louisiana coast.

Jules Marshall, a woman traveling from Chicago for her birthday, found herself stranded in New Orleans International Airport (MSY) with no resources in the area.

Sister station WDSU worked with Marshall to find her a safe place to stay as Hurricane Ida looms ahead.

A person watching the report on Marshall reached out and offered her and a few others stranded at the airport refuge.

Karen Sulzer, whose daughter shares the same birthday as Marshall, felt connected to Marshall and decided to lend a hand.

"There was no question. If we can help, we're gonna help," said Sulzer.

Sulzer's sister reportedly has an apartment nearby her home that is open, so Marshall and a few others will be staying there to wait out the storm.

Hurricane Ida is expected to make landfall Sunday afternoon as a category 4 on the coast of Louisiana.