More updates from New Orleans :

2:00 P.M. - Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi says “this is going to be the most expensive natural disaster that’s hit the United States in history.”

2:01 P.M. - Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard says there is no plumbing and the sanitary situation is getting nasty. He told WAFB-TV that he is carrying around a bag for his own human waste.

3:07 P.M. - Governor Blanco: We are looking for ways to get people out of the Superdome and out of New Orleans said Governor Blanco as she tried to keep from crying.

3:25 P.M. - With conditions in the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans rapidly deteriorating, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Tuesday that people now huddled in the Superdome and other rescue centers need to be evacuated.

“The situation is untenable,” Blanco said during a news conference. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

…and then there’s this guy….

2:07 P.M. - (AP) — A top casino executive is calling on the Mississippi Legislature to enact emergency legislation to keep the state’s coast gaming industry alive.

Treasure Bay Casino President and CEO Bernie Burkholder says most of the casino hotels on the coast survived Hurricane Katrina, but several gambling barges suffered extensive damage. He says it could take several years to rebuild.

I’d like to think the Mississippi legislature has more important things to consider than whether or not their people have a place to gamble. What a dick.