OBAMA TO SPEND KATRINA ANNIVERSARY IN NEW ORLEANS

[Stephan Bobb]

Obama to Spend Katrina Anniversary in New Orleans

*President Barack Obama will visit New Orleans later this month to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the White House said Friday,

Obama will travel on Aug. 29 to Louisiana’s largest city, and “members of the president’s cabinet who’ve worked to speed recovery and restoration efforts in the region also will be in New Orleans to mark the anniversary,” spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina led to disastrous flooding that left about 1,600 people dead, destroyed thousands of homes and marred the presidency of Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush, whose administration was severely criticized for its handling of the crisis.

Obama’s visit will include remarks at Xavier University of Louisiana, Gibbs said.

The trip will be the latest in a series of Obama visits to the Gulf Coast since a BP-leased oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April, triggering the largest accidental oil spill in history.