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As told to Peter de Saint Phalle

On this day in 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, beginning a cycle of disaster that still affects the city today. MTV News' Sway was on the scene in Houston to talk to evacuees about the aftermath of the storm. This is the story of his encounter with a young refugee named Terrell.

My four-person film crew and I arrived at the Astrodome in Houston on the Friday (September 2, 2005) after the storm had struck. The arena had become a drop-off point for the people being evacuated from New Orleans. When I first watched the media's coverage of the storm and its aftermath, it all seemed like an event too devastating to be real. Now as I saw the mass of people crowded outside of the Astrodome, the reality of Katrina's destructive power hit me in a whirlwind. These people were separated from families and friends, often with no changes of clothes, no identification, no money and no idea of what to do next.

The situation inside the stadium was even more ominous. I remember my crew and I walked out of the players' tunnel, almost expecting to see grass, goal lines, and referees. Instead we were met by a sea of people camped out on the floor of the stadium. There was very little food and water being distributed while bathroom facilities were overflowed and no longer working. I remember how the elderly were stationed below the bleachers, left without proper care and medication. One elderly woman had recently passed away. Her body was left where she was originally dropped off.

The people who came up to talk to me were angry and confused. They felt like their government didn't value their lives and that they had been abandoned in their time of great need. During those moments it was hard to expect any feeling of hope to emerge from such a seemingly hopeless situation, which is why I was surprised to meet a young man like Terrell.

Terrell had recently been bussed in from New Orleans and was looking for his family. Busses were dropping refugees in areas scattered across Texas and Louisiana, but Terrell would not rest until he knew where his family was. I was apprehensive about my crew following Terrell on his search. Even I, a stranger far removed from the situation, could feel the hopelessness of Terrell's circumstance. I was worried about exploiting the man's potential loss.

We followed Terrell for hours, searching cots, rooms and surrounding buildings for any sign of his family. His tenacity was rewarded when he found his brother, nieces and nephew at a refugee site not far from the stadium.

What Terrell taught me that day was that even through a terrible disaster, people will survive their struggles if they look to survive with hope in their hearts.

What are your memories from Hurricane Katrina? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Hurricane Katrina, new-orleans, video

In the wee hours of Thursday morning (August 26), MTV pulled the curtain away from "The Catalyst," the hotly-anticipated new video from Linkin Park from their forthcoming album A Thousand Suns. The clip doesn't have any particular narrative, but it remains compelling, as it shows the band in various states of distress and danger involving smoke, mirrors, water and a number of chaotic crowds. For a band that has always committed itself deeply to the way it looks in the music video universe, it's a worthy addition to an impressive collection of past clips.

For many, the premiere of "The Catalyst" was also the first chance they got to hear the single for the first time. While the core elements are still there (big, powerful guitars married to various experimental bits of electronic music, production tricks and the band's two distinct voices), it's a different kind of Linkin Park song than we are used to hearing (and profoundly different from most everything on modern rock radio at the moment). The structure is unusual (it doesn't so much have verses and choruses as it has several repeated movements — in this way, it bears more of a resemblance to a well-constructed dance song than any piece of rock) and the pace and tone stay relatively static throughout most of the first part of the track (rather than building up to a chorus and coming back down again). Rather than a sin wave, "The Catalyst" operates like a steadily inclining line.

But what does this shift in focus mean for Linkin Park's fans? We leave it to you. Vote in the poll below and let us know in the comments what you think about "The Catalyst."

Tags Linkin-Park, Poll, The Catalyst

"The medium is the message," goes media theorist Marshall McLuhan's famed maxim. That's exactly the lesson we learned on Thursday's (August 26) episode of "Jersey Shore," in which Snooki and JWoww thought it'd be a good idea to reveal their roomie's infidelities via an anonymous letter rather than a heart-to-heart-to-heart chat.

Put in more "Jersey Shore"-style terms, "It's ain't whatcha say, bro, it's how ya say it. B---."

And so we took in the spectacle of Sammi finding that letter tucked into her drawer, disclosing the many ways in which her troubled boyfriend Ronnie had betrayed her trust, from getting other girls' numbers to taking jello shots with a few waitress. Sammi was mortified, Ronnie was enraged and Snooki and JWoww fretted that a) maybe penning the note was a little harsh and b) soon everyone would discover the note's authors and freak the hell out.

We've become especially attuned to the cast's language this season, as we've embarked on our "Jersey Shore by the Numbers" project, tracking everyone's favorite words and phrases in an attempt to figure out just what goes on inside their oft-sloshed noggins. But it didn't take an expert in the academic areas of Tanning Technology or Laundry Arts to figure out the anonymous letter was going to start trouble.

Trouble, though, seems to follow these kids around, whether the Situation is fighting with Angelina about doing the dishes or Snooki is fighting with her boyfriend about Gay Pride Week. Yet they're a family, ready with an apology when they sense their words were unduly harsh. On Thursday's episode, the Situation atoned, Snooki forgave (albeit momentarily) and Sammi and Ronnie — well, they still can't decide if they love or hate each other.

But don't take our word for it. It's all there in wonderfully low-budget graph form: "Jersey Shore by the Numbers."

What did you think of the new episode of "Jersey Shore"? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Jersey Shore, JWoww, photo, Sammi Sweetheart, Snooki, The Situation

Thursday night (August 26) was extra long for a dozen MTV News staffers, as once the news-gathering day ended, the fantasy football day began. The 2010 NFL season begins on Thursday, September 9 when the Minnesota Vikings visit the New Orleans Saints in a rematch of last season's NFC Championship game (for the rest of the league, the season starts on Sunday, September 12 — the same day as the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards). Once again, 12 members of the MTV News team have come together to square off against one another for fantasy football greatness.

Though the predominant attitude among fantasy football players seems to suggest a move away from the running back-centric focus of past years, but the MTV News fantasy football draft kept a strong focus on runners (13 of the first 24 picks were backs), but there were plenty of curve balls. There was a big run on receivers in the second round (Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Roddy White and Randy Moss all got snapped up) and many players seemed genuinely unconcerned about the running-back-by-committee situations on the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

Like any event here in the MTV News offices, the start of the MTV News fantasy football draft required an appropriate song to kick off the festivities. Before MTV News Rock Editor James Montgomery made his opening pick (he chose Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson), the league cranked up Rick Ross' "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)," the unofficial song of the summer here in the MTV Newsroom. We got so wrapped up in the track that somebody even tried to draft Larry Hoover. We ended up having an excellent draft, so apparently the secret to an excellent evening begins with a little Maybach Music.

Tags Fantasy football, Rick-Ross

Before Big Boi became Sir Lucious Leftfoot and back when Andre 3000 was just a dude named Dre, Outkast were an up-and-coming hip-hop tag-team from Atlanta whose 1994 debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik grabbed some attention for its gritty flavor and head-spinning wordplay. But Outkast completely changed the game (and hinted at the boundary-destroying monster they would become) with their follow-up album ATLiens, which was released on this day in 1996.

In the history of hip-hop, ATLiens ranks among the most fitting titles of all time, as it combined the tropes of the Dirty South with a forward-thinking sci-fi mindset where anything was possible. But ATLiens also described the group's place in the hip-hop universe. Back in '96, Atlanta was a fairly insular music community (not like today, where it is one of the key taste-making cities in rap). With a mainstream music market dominated by Death Row style gangsta rap and Biggie Smalls-fueled East Coast grit, a group from Atlanta with a penchant for southern drawl might were strangers in a strange land. Outkast might as well have been from Neptune, not Georgia.

And yet for all its weirdness and envelope-pushing, ATLiens was a huge hit. The beats (produced by fellow Dungeon Family members Organized Noize) built giddy, chaotic hooks around throbbing bass grooves, neck-snapping drums and bits of backwoods country and psychedelic rock for good measure. While Outkast would further expand their sound with subsequent albums like Aquemini, Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, their ascent to hip-hop greatness began with "Elevators," the killer Top 40 single from ATLiens. We know you're nodding your head, because we can see you.

Tags Outkast, video

The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are fast approaching, which means that in only a few weeks you'll be treated to an excellent night of performances and appearances by the likes of Eminem, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence and the Machine, B.o.B and Deadmau5 (who will serve as the house DJ at the show). While people tend to remember the classic performances and the unhinged moments, the coveted Moonman is the reason why people show up and tune in. This year, there are 16 categories wherein some of the biggest music stars in the universe will compete for the coolest trophy in awards shows. Today, we take a look at the nominees in the Best Rock Video category.

Now that we've looked at all the technical categories, it's time to take a look at the more artist-centric Moonmen that will be given out when the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards go live on Sunday, September 12. The Best Rock Video category is reserved for the biggest, loudest, guitar-iest clips of the year, and this year's nominees all represent the rock world well. Paramore ("Ignorance"), Muse ("Uprising"), MGMT ("Flash Delirium"), Florence and the Machine ("Dog Days Are Over") and 30 Seconds to Mars ("Kings and Queens") each represent a different color in the rock spectrum, but they all make a solid case for rock dominance on the show.

A look down the past winners of Best Rock Video reads like a list of MTV All-Stars. There's Green Day (who won for "21 Guns" in 2009 and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" in 2005), Linkin Park ("Somewhere I Belong" in 2003, "In the End" in 2002), Metallica ("Until It Sleeps" in 1996 and "Enter Sandman" in 1992), Aerosmith (four wins, including "Janie's Got a Gun," "The Other Side," "Pink" and "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)") and Guns N' Roses (for "Sweet Child O' Mine" in 1989). None of this year's nominees have won before, though this isn't the first category nomination for 30 Seconds to Mars (who were nominated for "The Kill" in 2006) or Paramore (who were nominated for "Crushcrushcrush" in 2008 and "Decode" in 2009). The best money is on Paramore, who should make the third time the charm.

Who will be judged rockingest of all the rock videos this year? There's only one way to find out.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET.

Tags Better Know a Category, video-music-awards, VMAs

One of the simultaneous blessings and curses of "Saturday Night Live" is the fact that the cast is constantly being turned over. Some performers leave because they become big movie stars, and some just walk away because eight years is enough. Will Forte's case is the latter, as he announced today that he is tapping out of "SNL."

His career began rather thanklessly (if you recall, he was drafted to play George W. Bush after Will Ferrell left and people tended to unfairly compare the two), but he grew as a performer and has left behind a pretty excellent catalog of memorable characters and funny moments. (And it helped him expand, too: His appearances on "30 Rock" have been gutbusters, and he was the voice of Abe Lincoln on the short-lived but totally awesome "Clone High.") Here are the five things we'll best remember Forte for when the new season of "SNL" starts without him this fall.

MacGruber
Certainly Forte's most notable creation (no other character got the feature film treatment), the "MacGruber" character really shouldn't have worked. After all, it spoofed "MacGuyver," which is not exactly a show that warmly lives on in the cultural memory. But the fact that it was only ever a minute long helped out the fact that it was only ever one joke, and the escalation involved is pretty magical. And hey: The "MacGruber" movie was actually a pretty excellent action-comedy.

Greg Stink
A more recent creation, Forte took on the Greg Stink role opposite Jason Sudeikis (as Pete Twinkle) as wildly off-base ESPN analysts. Read more...

Tags saturday-night-live, Will Forte

"'Mine' was a very hard song. The song has a lot of dark elements, but it also has a lot of happy elements. Taylor was extremely involved with this one from the beginning. We had lots of conversations about what it should be and moments and things like that."

-Music video director Roman White, talking about pop-country superstar Taylor Swift's involvement in the creation of the video for her new single "Mine," which is set to premiere this Friday (August 27). The director, who has also directed the VMA-winning "You Belong With Me" and the VMA-nominated "Fifteen" for Swift, told MTV News' Matt Elias that Swift's approach to music videos has evolved a great deal since they first began working together. "Taylor's definitely matured since I've known her," he said. "We started with 'You Belong With Me,' and now we just shot a video where she has kids, and so that's quite an evolution. I definitely think she's growing into herself. It's going to sound cheesy, but she's becoming a woman."

The video for "Mine" depicts Swift and "Black Swan" actor Toby Hemingway going through a relationship that follows their courtship, marriage and even having children together. It captures all of the ups and downs of a relationship. It includes a sequence on the beach (be sure to check out the sneak peak now), which was one of the more involved portions of the shoot. "We shot the video in early July in Maine, and it was insanely hot," White said. "The first day we shot at this private estate. They had a private beach and everything, which made shooting a lot easier, because when you go out in public and somebody spots Taylor Swift, I mean, it doesn't take 15 minutes and there's a huge crowd. The beach shot we shot was mostly her and Toby falling in love. It was more kind of walking hand in hand along the coastline, and then later on in the video, we kind of mimic that same beach."

Tags Quote, Taylor Swift

The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are only a few weeks away. The biggest party of the year features nominated clips by Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Ke$ha and Katy Perry and will feature performances by Kanye West, Eminem, Drake, Paramore, Usher, B.o.B and Florence and the Machine (with many more to be announced). In order to properly prepare yourself for what's to come, every day the MTV Newsroom Blog will deliver a classic moment in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. Today's installment: Busta Rhymes makes a new best friend.

Generally speaking, the MTV Video Music Awards have been either a New York or Los Angeles event (this year, they head back to L.A. for the first time since 2008), but in 2004 and 2005, the show decided to head south for some fun and sun in Miami. Artists loved the way-down-south shows, as they allowed them to do interesting things with fashion, arrivals and performances that captured the vibe of the city and that would otherwise be impossible in other cities. For example, 2004's show saw a handful of artists arriving via watercraft — including Usher, who performed on the show, won the awards for Best Male Video and Best Dance Video (for "Yeah!") and bragged about the size of his yacht during the pre-show.

Once he hit the stage, Usher unleashed his gigantic hit "Yeah!" with the assistance of Ludacris and Lil Jon. It was wild and lively, but Usher kicked it up a notch when he literally made it rain on stage (a trick that Kelly Clarkson would borrow the following year when she closed the show with "Since U Been Gone"). No word on what Usher will do when on stage at this year's VMAs, but you can count on it being funky, fresh and surprising.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET.

Tags Usher, video-music-awards, VMAs

They've been gone for a minute (their last full-length album was 2007's Minutes to Midnight) working on a number of side projects (including Fort Minor and Dead by Sunrise), but Linkin Park are on their way back to reclaim their place as one of the biggest American rock bands in the world. Originally lumped in with the nü-metal phenomenon at the turn of the millennium, Linkin Park have evolved into a powerful combo who infuse their powerful rock riffs with all types of experimental electronic details. When you think about it, they're sort of like the American U2 — a comparison they would probably welcome, especially if the "With or Without You"-biting track "Shadow of the Day" is any indication.

Their new album A Thousand Suns is set to hit stores next month, the album's first single "The Catalyst" just had its video premiere late last night on MTV. Linkin Park have always taken the visual side of their band very seriously. Their album covers are always works of art, and their videos always employ a striking visual style that moves and shifts with their interests and obsessions. "The Catalyst" is no different. While it lacks any real narrative, there are a handful of eye-popping images that play nicely into the song's unconventional structure and envelope-pushing energy and rhythms. There's a lot of smoke, plenty of water and dozens of slow-motion shots of thrashing and rage. There are also a handful of playful mirror effects using both the water and strange angles against an actual mirror. In the clip's key scene, we get this strange, somewhat off-putting shot of a double mouth.

It's actually a great distillation of the clip as a whole: It's visually striking, somewhat mysterious, just a little frightening and wholly Linkin Park. Welcome back, boys. You were missed.

What do you think of Linkin Park's new video for "The Catalyst"? Let us know in the comments!

Tags Key Scene, Linkin-Park, photo