The governor has signed onto a federal foster initiative and a state budget would add money to raise daily board payments. Officials say higher pay is aimed at recruiting and keeping more licensed homes for kids in care.

City leaders asked the Sewerage & Water Board to return $14M set aside for a federal HERO grant as cash pressures mount. The board says it had relied on the pledge.

Mylar balloons contacting a power line knocked out service for parts of New Orleans East on March 15; crews restored power within about an hour.

A Silver Alert was issued after 63-year-old Albert James Lee was last seen near West Esplanade and Loyola Drive in Kenner. Authorities ask anyone with information to contact Kenner Police.

Gusts to 40 mph and a Red Flag Warning make Monday blustery in New Orleans. Expect cooler temps tonight and a Freeze Watch inland.

St. Tammany’s council voted to ask state lawmakers to repeal a 1985 special law that shields the mosquito district’s budget from parish oversight after an efficiency review. The move sets up a state-level fight over funding and public‑health control.

A 37-year-old man was shot in the back at a Westwego Quick N Karry on Wednesday; the store was hit by gunfire and investigators are offering a reward for tips.

A hunter-harvested deer in Ouachita Parish tested positive for chronic wasting disease; LDWF expanded a control zone and tightened baiting and carcass rules in northern Louisiana.

Janette Ramirez was sentenced to 42 months for transmitting a ransom demand after a New Orleans kidnapping; prosecutors say she used CashApp to collect payments.

Rep. Troy Carter helped secure $1.03M to fund 5,750 biometric gun safes and safe‑storage training for families across southeast Louisiana.

TRNSCND festival at Mardi Gras World has been canceled. A smaller Republic NOLA EDM night with Wuki and Henry Fong will still take place this weekend.

A judge’s trip to a Baton Rouge seminar briefly paused an Orleans Parish juvenile sex‑abuse trial just before deliberations; the defendant was convicted and will be sentenced next month.

State officials identified the inmate as David Closson and ordered an autopsy as investigators probe another death at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center.