https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/27/rescuers-poised-to-move-in-as-hurricane-laura-still-howls/ > By GERALD HERBERT, MELINDA DESLATTE, and STACEY PLAISANCE | The Associated Press > LAKE ARTHUR, La. — Hurricane Laura pounded the Gulf Coast for hours with ferocious wind, torrential rains and rising seawater as it roared ashore over southwestern Louisiana near the Texas border early Thursday, threatening the lives of people who didn’t evacuate.