Ferocious Francine lashes Louisiana with destructive winds, flooding rain as storm weakens to tropical storm

Ferocious Francine lashes Louisiana with destructive winds, flooding rain as storm weakens to tropical storm

Francine has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but the effects of the once Category 2 hurricane continue in Louisiana and the Southeast as more than 400,000 utility customers are plunged into darkness while torrential rain led to numerous reports of flooding.