LOUISIANA

“The Louisiana House of Representatives has been willing to make it easier to increase some fees for university students — but has resisted efforts to make it easier for colleges and university officials to raise tuition.of any sort so far.” – NOLA.com 

“Orleans Parish Coroner Jeffrey Rouse identified the Housing Authority of New Orleans Police Officer who was killed early Sunday morning as 45-year old James Bennett, Jr.” – WWL-TV

“UCLA claimed the No. 1 NCAA national seed, denying LSU a shot at history: No Tigers team has been the top seed since the NCAA went to the format in 1999. The goal for LSU was accomplished, though: The path to Omaha for coach Paul Mainieri’s team will go through Baton Rouge. LSU will host No. 2 seed UNC-Wilmington, No. 3 seed Tulane and No. 4 seed Lehigh in a four-team regional starting Friday.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“We knew we were going to play outstanding competition wherever we went,” Lehigh coach Sean Leary said. “Baseball is a huge sport at LSU and they have an awesome atmosphere, and to get in a position like this is what we’ve worked so hard for. Our guys are excited to play in front of the big crowd and great atmosphere. We know we’ll have our hands full with them, but that’s what this is all about.” – Allentown Morning Call

“The measure sets up a higher education tax credit to cover a student fee that doesn’t yet exist. Students and their families would never actually be expected to pay the soon-to-be-created student fee either, because the tax credit would automatically be applied to cover it before they received any bill.” – NOLA.com

“Going against Gov. Bobby Jindal, a key House panel Tuesday morning approved legislation that would boost state aid for public schools by nearly $85 million. The measure includes $36 million that would boost spending per student, which Jindal did not include in his proposed operating budget.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Louisiana’s state senators were told Monday that the House version of next year’s budget is short at least $155 million in identified needs, with holes mainly in public health care services for the poor and uninsured.” – Lake Charles American Press

“Monday’s storms brought down numerous trees around the ArkLaTex, knocking out power and blocking roads.” – KSLA

“A severe storm that ripped through the metro area spawned a tornado that caused damage on Third Street in Kenner.” – WWL-TV

“With cargo ships getting larger and the Panama Canal getting wider, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is once again weighing the costs and benefits of a potential $300 million effort to deepen the lower Mississippi River by as much as 5 feet.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

NATIONAL

“Some of us now struggle to recognize the culture we live in. We are profoundly baffled and greatly disturbed by what seems like a complete inversion of values.” – Quin Hillyer/National Review

“When House Republicans took the majority in 2011, they made it their overarching mission to rein in spending. Together with the White House, they agreed to limit spending for the next decade by the use of budget caps. Now those spending ceilings are unpopular with members of both parties. Pressure to break them is coming from all sides, and building.” – The Hill

“But while the over-generous compensation of universities’ CEOs is what gets the press attention, it’s not the biggest problem. Rather, the drastic cost increases associated with higher education stem mostly from lower levels of administration. For every highly paid president, universities are afflicted with scores of lower-level administrators, often earning in the six figures, who get far less attention. And each of those administrators, of course, has a fiefdom stocked with lower-paid, but more numerous, administrators and secretaries.” – Glenn Reynolds/USA Today

“Major insurers in some states are proposing up to 51 percent premium increases for health plans sold under the Affordable Healthcare and Patient Protection Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare. Despite single digit increases for 2015, insurance companies are seeing their costs jump and are demanding to be compensated with dramatically higher rates.” – Breitbart

“Material poverty doesn’t cause murder, rape, or terror. Moral poverty does. That’s one of the great divides between Left and Right. And it largely emanates from their differing views about whether human nature is innately good.” – Dennis Prager/National Review

“Iran’s behavior didn’t change, and its pursuit of nuclear weapons didn’t change. Obama manufactured what Rhodes called an opportunity by pursuing a deal with Iran and dangling all kinds of carrots in front of the mullahs.” – John Podhoretz/NY Post

“A Washington state senator has survived a campaign by Western Washington University students who demanded their school revoke his master’s degree because he’s not radical enough on global warming.” – Watchdog

“Walker said that if he’s elected president in 2016, he’d aim to severely cut back on the size and scope of the federal government—and he touted his experience battling the unions in Wisconsin as having prepared him for what’s necessary to do that.” – Breitbart

“Iraq isn’t a scared resident living in fear of the gang-bangers hanging out on the corner. Again, it’s a country with a large military that has been lavishly equipped and trained by the United States of America. To accept this argument you have to accept the notion that the US will be responsible for Iraqi security forever. After all, police don’t come in, sweep the neighborhood of bad guys and then tell the previously scared residents they are now in charge of keeping the area safe.” – Ace Of Spades

“This weekend’s box office will be the worst for a Memorial Day since 2001. ‘Tomorrowland,’ a bad movie, narrowly edged out hold over ‘Pitch Perfect 2.’ An unnecessary remake of ‘Poltergeist’ was a close third. Surprisingly, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ has not proven to be a blockbuster, although it’s doing ok. Theaters are living on the dribs and drabs of ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and ‘Furious 7’ for audiences.” – Showbiz 411