New Orleans Swears In Nagin

Mayor Ray Nagin took the oath of office Thursday for a second term leading this storm-hobbled city, promising a better future during a ceremony held at the site of some of the worst misery caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Nagin, who defeated Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu on May 20, was sworn in at the convention center, a giant riverside complex where thousands of hungry, scared evacuees waited days for rescue last summer as muddy water submerged most of the city.

"Today is a new beginning for New Orleans, another beginning for New Orleans. I stand before you tried, tested and having weathered the worst of storms," Nagin said.

He took the oath of office the same day as the start of the new hurricane season. "How can we do an inauguration on the same day as hurricane season? Lord, have mercy," Nagin joked in a speech that often sounded like a sermon as he recounted small miracles in the city and promised bigger ones to come.

Nagin thanked President Bush and Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who both at times were his adversaries in Katrina's aftermath.