The mystery device found Wednesday night near the World War II museum was designed for an explosion, but not the kind that the bomb squad is designed to protect against, according to NOPD.  According to spokesman officer Garry Flot, the device that shut down the streets in the area is supposed to produce a pyrotechnic display

Authorities returned an indictment against New Orleans gang members that they called the largest and most sweeping in the city's history, District Attorney Leon Cannizzarro said this morning. The 51-count indictment was filed yesterday against 15 members of the 110ers gang, which included those responsible for the murder of 5-year-old Briana Allen at a Central City birthday party in May, 2012, Cannizzaro said.

Updated 5.9.13 10:20 a.m.

The New Orleans Police Department is investigating an unknown device that was deemed suspicious in the Warehouse District. The device was found on the side of the National World War II Museum, near the corner of Calliope St. and Magazine St.

A pair of early week armed robberies on opposite edges of the French Quarter have NOPD searching for suspects. In one incident, a man was forced to empty his pockets on Esplanade. In another that was caught on video, a man was robbed while sitting in his car in the CBD.

The presence of GPS and security cameras in cabs led detectives to the arrest of a taxi driver who allegedly raped a woman Uptown last week, police said Tuesday. Officers nabbed Yellow Cab driver Sohail Khan, 40, in the 3200 block of D'Hemecourt Street for a sexual assault that occurred last week in the Uptown university area.

Two men are wanted for a rape and kidnapping that occurred Monday morning, May 5, at 3:34am, according to reports. The victim was approached in the 700-block of Camp, near Girod in the CBD.  Police have released composite sketches from the victim’s descriptions of the attackers. Another man was booked for an armed robbery that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter.

Bullets flew on the I-10 in the early morning hours of Monday. In the end, one man was dead and another man was injured in an incident that apparently involved two separate cars, New Orleans police said. About 2:55 a.m., police received a call about multiple shots fired on the interstate in the westbound direction near the Metairie Road exit.

NOPD released a sketch of the man who they believe robbed two people while waiting for the streetcar on Canal St. this week. About 11:30 p.m. Monday, a 27-year-old man and woman aged 22 and 24 were waiting at at the streetcar stop at the intersection of Canal and N. Lopez Sts., when a man approached with his right hand in his pocket.

Police are investigating two sexual assault cases that occurred this week. Early this morning, a cab driver raped a passenger in his car, according to reports. The suspect has not been identified, and police released a composite sketch from the victim’s description of her attacker. NOPD is also investigating the sexual assault of a 16-year-old school bus passenger. 

Chaos on the I-10 left a charter bus full of students in the swamp, and the driver of a car dead on Thursday morning. After 10 a.m., a woman driving a Honda Accord eastbound on Interstate 10 near the Michoud Boulevard lost control of her car as it began to hydroplane, according to New Orleans police. The car then crossed the median.