LOUISIANA

“We should not erase or uproot our past, and we should remember these important historical figures and moments in the right context. But, for example, I don’t believe Gen. Robert E. Lee’s place in the history of New Orleans should be revered,” said Mayor Landrieu. “It would be better for all our children, black and white, to see symbols in prominent places in our city that make them feel proud of their city and inspire them to greatness. We should do our part to remove these symbols of supremacy from places of reverence that no longer, if ever, reflect who we are. The moral arc of the history bends as it usually does, towards justice. But it does not bend on its own. That is left to us.” – WAFB

“In addition to calling for the removal of four Confederate monuments in the city, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Thursday (July 9) said the City Council should abolish Jefferson Davis Parkway and rename it Norman C. Francis Parkway.” – NOLA.com

“Local governments in Louisiana have begun accepting settlements for their share of a proposed $18.7 billion settlement between BP, Louisiana, four other states and the federal government to mitigate claims stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Gretna City Council voted to accept a $3.29 million settlement and the Lafourche Parish Council unanimously approved an $8.1 million settlement.” – Insurance Journal

“New Orleans’ year-to-date murder tally hit 100 on Thursday morning (July 9), 55 days sooner than a year ago, and 101 late Thursday night. The grim triple-digit milestone had not been reached until the first week of September in each of the previous two years.” – NOLA.com

“A top state official said Thursday that her agency is changing its policies to address concerns raised by the case of a severely malnourished Baton Rouge boy discovered living in squalor for years due to suspected neglect from his mother.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Louisiana should lower its personal income tax rate and make up the difference in revenue by eliminating some tax breaks, gubernatorial candidate John Bel Edwards said Thursday in Alexandria.” – Alexandria Town Talk

“The House approved a measure to ensure millions of dollars in oil and gas revenues stay in Louisiana and other Gulf states, stalling President Barack Obama’s efforts to spread the money nationwide.” – Houma Courier

“The longtime secretary to former Lafayette Parish District Attorney Mike Harson was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison for her role in a years-long bribery scheme that involved DWI offenders. Barna D. Haynes, 61, who pleaded guilty in 2013, is to report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Aug. 20.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Immigrant supporters will rally outside the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday morning. This comes ahead of a key federal court hearing that will decide if an injunction will be lifted that has put some crucial immigration initiatives on hold.” – WDSU

“LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva sees two big keys to the Tigers’ football success this season. Avoiding injuries. And, of course, having improved quarterback play. ‘If we get good quarterback play and stay healthy we can beat and compete with anyone in the country,’ Alleva said Friday morning on ‘Culotta & The Prince’ on 104.5/10.49 ESPN in Baton Rouge.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

NATIONAL

“When Scott Walker announces for president on Monday, he will do so from a position of strength: four in five early-state insiders consider him a top tier candidate. And he’s the clear frontrunner in Iowa: 82 percent of Hawkeye State Republicans also said he would win the caucuses if they were held tomorrow.” – POLITICO

“Megyn Kelly was absolutely incensed at the non response from the White House on their past defense of sanctuary cities in light of the awful murder in San Francisco. The lovely and brilliant Dana Perino contrasted the actions of this lawless administration with that of George W. Bush, where they had to legally defend laws that Clinton had passed previously.” – The Right Scoop

“How has the Obama administration’s radically transformative Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation—released in preliminary form nearly two years ago—largely escaped public scrutiny until now?” – Stanley Kurtz/National Review

“She said no, it wouldn’t do that, and the reason is this has been where the problem is. The problem is in China, you’ve got to do it in India, you’ve got to do it in Mexico and if you don’t do that you could have the reverse effect. If you chase away our manufacturing base here, where do they go? They go to places like China and like India and it could have the effect of increasing it and not decreasing it,” Inhofe said. “Well, that wasn’t a very popular response to the question with the administration. Climategate should have ended it right there at that time.” – PJ Media

“Katherine Archuleta, the director of the Office of Personnel Management, will resign effective Friday, according to a White House official, one day after it was revealed that sweeping cyberintrusions at the agency resulted in the theft of the personal information of more than 25 million people.” – NY Times

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are at odds over how to extend highway funding past a looming July 31 deadline. The two men can agree on this: A full six-year extension of highway projects won’t come together in the next few weeks — making some sort of short-term extension necessary — and Congress won’t raise the gas tax.” – The Hill

“U.S. crude oil prices have plunged by 11 percent over the last two days to a low of $50 a barrel before settling at $52. The mainstream-media blames the fall in prices on the turmoil in China and Greece, but the real driver is the outbreak of discounting by U.S. oil-rig operators. The resulting fall in the average U.S. ‘break-even’ cost necessary to sustain domestic oil production is now around $32 per barrel. America’s new hyper-competitive cost structure has launched a second wave of an oil boom that threatens to bankrupt OPEC.” – Breitbart

“After a very long day interrupted by a ‘credible’ bomb threat and punctuated by explosive political rhetoric, the state Assembly passed the $72.7 billion state budget. The two-year spending plan, arriving nine days late, now heads to the desk of Gov. Scott Walker – just four days before the Republican is expected to announce his bid for the White House.” – Watchdog

“China’s stock market had what traders call a ‘Dead Kitty’ bounce on Thursday as the communist authorities dispatched police and security personnel to ‘encourage’ insider-buying and to arrest short sellers. With the Chinese market still highly inflated even after falling $3 trillion in value, China took action last night to “nationalize” about $6 trillion in losses.” – Breitbart

“Media coverage of Donald Trump’s controversial immigration remarks have lifted the GOP presidential candidate to the top of the Republican field, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll.” – The Hill