Police have recovered an AK-47 assault rifle after closing a stretch of Constitution Avenue near the White House to investigate reports of gunfire in the area.

OUTER bands of rain from Hurricane Rita began falling in New Orleans yesterday and forecasts of between eight and 13 centimetres of rainfall in the coming days raised fears the patched levee system could fail and flood the city all over again.

The outer bands of rain from Hurricane Rita began falling in New Orleans today, and forecasts of between 8 and 13 centimetres of rainfall in the coming days raised fears the patched levee system could fail and flood the city all over again.