9 Feature Stories You Can't Miss This Week: Colbert, Catastrophe, And Cat Island

This week for BuzzFeed News, John Stanton and Joel Anderson visit the Gulf Coast ten years after Hurricane Katrina. Read those and these other great stories from BuzzFeed and around the web.

1. Is Post-Katrina Gentrification Saving New Orleans Or Ruining It? — BuzzFeed News

Photograph by Amy K. Nelson for BuzzFeed News

In the decade since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, an influx of billions of dollars and thousands of new residents has helped revitalize portions of the city. However, for some longtime residents like local MC and activist Domonique Meyers, the Crescent City is at risk of losing something much more valuable than what it has gained. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

2. The Short, Hard Life of Freddie Gray — BuzzFeed News

David Goldman / AP

Freddie Gray’s death inspired riots in Baltimore because it was all too familiar to all too many people. But, as Nicolás Medina Mora finds, his short life was punctuated by a series of difficult and confounding encounters with the criminal justice system that were even more common than his death. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

3. The Late, Great Stephen Colbert — GQ

Photograph by Sebastian Kim for GQ

Joel Lovell explores the identity crisis of the iconic comic as he prepares to take over The Late Show after shuttering The Colbert Report. "Who will he be now that he's no longer in character...When you're speaking to a huge swath of America each night, can you still carry a knife? Read it at GQ.

4. The Right-Wing Hate Machine — Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan

Jill Filipovic dives deep into the world of Twitchy, the online political trolling and harassment platform created by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin. "While Twitchy's content is tweet aggregation, its purpose seems to be filling insatiable reader rage. Many of the tweets posted to Twitchy are put on there seemingly for the express purpose of demonstrating how stupid or evil Twitchy believes the tweeter to be." Read it at Cosmopolitan.

5. How Katrina Destroyed a Town and Its Mayor — BuzzFeed News

Mark Boster / Getty Images

Billy McDonald rose to political power in a little Mississippi beach town on the strength of his resilience and colorful personality. But, as Joel Anderson recounts, when Hurricane Katrina hit Pass Christian, it took everything from him and his city. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

6. The Origins of the Cult of Julie Chen — BuzzFeed News

CBS

Television personality Julie Chen has had an explosive career that includes two decades in network news, 17 seasons as the host of Big Brother, five years on The Talk, and one of Hollywood’s most high-profile marriages. Jarett Wieselman discovers what it is that has made her the obsession of millions. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

7. Welcome to Larry Ellison's Cat Island — BuzzFeed News

Andrew Dalton / BuzzFeed

Three years ago, when Oracle founder and billionaire playboy Larry Ellison bought a Hawaiian island, he also unwittingly inherited the Lana’i Animal Rescue Center and its 400 feral cats. Andrew Dalton pays a visit to find out who's taking care of them. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

8. Who Is Marc Jacobs? — T Magazine

Photograph by Jason Schmidt for T Magazine

Sarah Nicole Prickett sits down for lunch with the fashion designer as he attempts to balance his trademark individuality with the mounting expectations of his eponymous label going public. "It’s a recurring theme: I’m up against something uncomfortable or difficult, and just as I feel like I’m making some progress, there’s an end to the dream that says no, you’re not getting anywhere, you have to start over." Read it at T Magazine.

9. Inside a Senior Living Facility Beauty Shop — Racked

Photograph by Driely S. for Racked

Claire Carusillo discovers that the ritual of being primped and prodded continues well into old age for many women — and for meaningful reasons. "Spending time in the beauty salon offers the residents routine and self-care in this smaller, possibly creakier version of the world they’ve known all their lives. Read it at Racked.