LOUISIANA

“From December 30 in the Music City Bowl where his late-game LSU defense collapsed once more while his bags were packed for Texas A&M, until February 13 when he supposedly officially became the savior of the worst defense in the SEC, exactly who and where was John Chavis?” – NOLA.com

“Call it a tax or a fee, or even a penalty or a fine. By any name, increasing them still means individuals and businesses will be expected to pay more. In Louisiana, they’re all on the table this session inside a legal cornucopia that allows for blurred lines and, possibly, a bounty of hundreds of millions of dollars in new payments from you and yours.” – Jeremy Alford/LAPolitics.com

“Even Gov. Bobby Jindal’s top aides have been highly critical of some of the tax credit programs they administer, such as the state’s heavy subsidy of the film industry and its so-called Enterprise Zone program, which has forced Louisianians to help cover the cost of putting retail stores and restaurants in wealthy neighborhoods.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“A federal investigation into former north shore district attorney Walter Reed is continuing, according to a grand jury subpoena requesting records related to Reed’s campaign payments to his son’s company.” – NOLA.com

“Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed budget would force layoffs of about 100 of the state Department of Education’s roughly 300 employees, state Superintendent of Education John White said Monday. White said he was originally told the governor’s budget plan could result in 45 agency workers losing their jobs.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, said his meeting Monday morning with Lafayette area leaders in the oil and gas business brought him no surprises. But he said he has greater understanding of the challenges that the industry faces.” – Lafayette Advertiser

“Louisiana higher education commissioner Joseph Rallo said the state’s colleges and universities still face daunting financial hurdles next year, in spite of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s recent suggestions for closing the schools’ funding gap.” – NOLA.com

“LSU President and Chancellor F. King Alexander has released a video message to reassure the university’s supporters, following the release of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s budget recommendation that threatens to cut higher education funding by more than $500 million if state lawmakers don’t approve a plan that would reduce some tax credits.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“A New Orleans area flood-protection board voted 5-4 Monday against abandoning its appeal of the dismissal of a coastal erosion lawsuit against oil, gas and pipeline companies.” – Lake Charles American Press

“Three weeks into the season, LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri is making a change at third base. Conner Hale will replace Danny Zardon at the position, an inconsistent spot on the diamond for LSU and a position that has concerned Mainieri since Christian Ibarra played his final game last season.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

NATIONAL

“Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a controversial speech before the U.S. Congress to appeal to President Obama to pull back on nuclear talks with Iran, warning the ‘bad deal’ in the works ‘paves Iran’s path to the bomb’ and could lead to a ‘potential nuclear nightmare.'” – Fox News

“The emerging nuclear deal with Iran is indefensible. The White House knows it. That is why President Obama does not want to subject an agreement to congressional approval, why critics of the deal are dismissed as warmongers, and why the president, his secretary of state, and his national-security adviser have spent several weeks demonizing the prime minister of Israel for having the temerity to accept an invitation by the U.S. Congress to deliver a speech on a subject of existential import for his small country. These tactics distract public attention. They turn a subject of enormous significance to American foreign policy into a petty personal drama. They prevent us from discussing what America is about to give away.” – Matthew Continetti/National Review

“On the surface, there is not much that commends Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. An anti-Semite, he has frequently questioned the Holocaust and defamed Israel in despicable terms. As a conspiracy theorist, he endlessly weaves strange tales about the United States and its intentions. As a national leader, he has ruthlessly repressed Iran’s once-vibrant civil society while impoverishing its economy. And yet Khamenei is also a first-rate strategic genius who is patiently negotiating his way to a bomb.” – Ray Takeyh/Washington Post

“The House could vote Tuesday on a bill that averts a partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and funds the agency through September, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told GOP lawmakers in a closed-door caucus meeting.” – The Hill

“The GOP’s business wing is openly siding with President Barack Obama’s alliance of progressive and media to pressure conservative GOP legislators into accepting Obama’s executive amnesty.” – Daily Caller

“In case you were wondering, ‘How is it legal that the Clintons can take half a billion in donations bribes, almost a hundred of million of which are from foreign governments?,’ the answer turns out to be ‘It’s totally not legal.’ Now, the one exception to the Emoluments Clause is that the executive can review the bribe — let’s not pretend this is not a bribe, okay? — and okay it. Earlier the State Department indicated that it had cleared Hillary Clinton’s foreign bribes as ‘Obama-approved foreign bribery.’ But now, via @JohnEkdahl, the State Department is retracting previous claims that it gave a Good Bribe seal of approval to Hillary Clinton’s hundred million in foreign bribes.” – Ace Of Spades

“As for those who have a path to victory — Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz — I will now tell you which one is the truly viable candidate, the only Republican who could actually win the general. The Republican who can win the general is whichever one realizes that he is running against the news media.” – Andrew Klavan/PJ Media

“The disclosure that Hillary Clinton used a non-governmental e-mail address while she was Secretary of State originally came courtesy of “Guccifer,” the Romanian hacker now serving time in a Bucharest prison for his online attacks against scores of public figures.” – The Smoking Gun

“David Petraeus, the well-known retired U.S. Army general and CIA director, has reached a plea deal with the Department of Justice after admitting to sharing classified information with his biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell.” – POLITICO

“Venezuela has given the U.S. Embassy in Caracas 15 days to downsize its staff from 100 personnel to 17.” – Hot Air