Housing rally halts razing of projects

Protesters wielding bullhorns and shouting "housing is a human right!" stopped demolition at a large public housing complex in New Orleans.

More than 30 protesters blocked an excavator from entering the fenced-off area of the B.W. Cooper complex. It was the first of what likely will be many standoffs between protesters and demolition crews that are tearing down hundreds of buildings so they can be replaced with mixed-income housing.

Cooper is one of several housing complexes where thousands of residents have not been allowed to return to their homes since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. With a growing homeless population and high rents, housing for the poor has become a defining issue for the city.