A freight train has crashed into a coach in Biloxi, Mississippi, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving at least four people dead, authorities said.

Tropical Storm Lee dumped more than a foot of rain in New Orleans and spun off tornadoes elsewhere as its centre came ashore in a slow crawl north that raised fears of inland flash flooding in America’s Deep South and beyond.

New Orleans, still in a mess amid an achingly slow pace of recovery across the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina’s strike, did not warrant a mention by US President George Bush on the year’s biggest night for showcasing US policy priorities.

Like their communities, The Sun Herald of south Mississippi and The Times-Picayune of New Orleans took a beating from Hurricane Katrina. Their buildings were damaged, advertisers and subscribers were displaced and circulation dropped.