Greg LaRose (Louisiana Illuminator)

Landry plans to expand the use of state troopers in New Orleans but has offered few details about what their expanded role will entail.

On some issues — such as making teacher pay raises permanent (support) and raising the state tax on gasoline sales (against) — all five candidates agreed, and they predictably took party lines on other matters.

Authorities are looking for a suspect responsible for starting the Aug. 22 fire that emergency crews continue to fight.

Intense downpours brought relief from high temperatures Monday to some parts of Louisiana, but officials say it did little to reduce the threat of wildfires.

The fatality reported in St. Tammany Parish ended what had otherwise been a comparatively uneventful day elsewhere in the state.

Fires have caused the most damage in Beauregard Parish, and evacuation orders continued into the night there and to the immediate north in portions of Vernon Parish.

Entergy’s subsidiaries in Louisiana are suspending all disconnections for the duration of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ declared heat emergency through Sept. 9.

Karen Carter Peterson, a former state senator and Louisiana Democratic Party chair, has admitted she diverted party and campaign funds for her personal use. Federal authorities shed light on wire fraud scheme in a bill of information filed Thursday.

Louisiana lawmakers have so far filed seven maps to consider in a special session brought about after a federal court rejected a congressional redistricting proposal they approved earlier this year. The judge in the case has given legislators until Monday to submit a map with two majority-Black districts in order to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

A bill that would have allowed Louisiana residents to carry a concealed firearm without a permit or training was transformed Wednesday into a proposal to arm teachers in classrooms. A Senate committee amendment to Rep. Danny McCormick’s so-called “constitutional carry” legislation appears to have derailed his pro-gun campaign for the second straight year.