LOUISIANA

“John Russel Houser, the alleged theater shooter, had been accused of arson and damaging a rental home, had a history of mental illness and was denied a gun permit, according to Russell County, Alabama, Sheriff Heath Taylor.” – Lafayette Advertiser

“An instructor at LSU-Eunice, where Lafayette shooting victim Mayci Breaux, was a first year student, described her as smart and popular student. Next week, Mayci would have taken a final exam at the end of her first semester in the school’s Radiologic Technology program, according to Robert McLaughlin, the program’s head.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Lafayette residents poured out love on Friday for Jillian Johnson, who was killed Thursday in a mass shooting at the movies in Lafayette, and known to the community as an artistic and creative soul and business owner.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“More than $5,000 has already been raised via Go Fund Me for two Iberia Parish teachers who were injured in Thursday night’s shooting at the Grand Theater in Lafayette. The teachers are Jena Meaux and Ali Martin. Both are teachers at Jeanerette Senior High School.” – Lafayette Advertiser

“Congressman Charles Boustany called into KPEL 96.5 this morning to discuss last night’s tragic theater shooting. Boustany is currently in Washington DC, but he informed KPEL that he’s on his way to Lafayette.” – KPEL

“Revenue dropped 30 percent at Harrah’s New Orleans Hotel and Casino in June, and its top executive put most of the blame on the city’s new indoor smoking ban. It marked the second straight month since people were forbidden to smoke inside that the state’s largest land-based casino reported a significant decline in revenue.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, a candidate for governor, has issued a letter calling on Gov. Bobby Jindal to reimburse the state for state police travel expenses since the start of 2015.” – NOLA.com

“Gov. Bobby Jindal registered at just 1 percent in a recent survey of Republicans on their favorite candidate for the White House in the 2016 election, continuing his lackluster performance in national polls. The Public Policy Polling survey, conducted July 20-21, placed Jindal in a tie for 12th in the crowded Republican field.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“A potentially deadly brain-eating amoeba has been discovered in the St. Bernard Parish Water System that serves more than 44,000 people, and the system is being purified, state health officials said. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals notified the water system and parish officials Wednesday evening.” – Lake Charles American Press

“Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond will join President Barack Obama on the president’s six-day trip to Africa that begins Thursday. Richmond is the only Democrat in the Louisiana delegation.” – Monroe News Star

NATIONAL

“Memo to D.C., when you read polls that say that people hate politicians, believe them. People, particularly those who have been Republican voters in the past, have had enough of being played for fools by the political class. People really don’t like or trust you. Now, they tolerate their existing Member of Congress the way a new dog owner accept that a puppy is going to mess on the floor…” – Net Right Daily

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to challenge some House Republicans in primary elections, frustrated after much of its agenda has been stymied by a small pocket of conservative GOP lawmakers.” – POLITICO

“A brash showboat and celebrity, self-promoter and controversialist, silly and mocking, a caricature of a caricature, Donald Trump is no one’s idea of a serious presidential candidate. Which is exactly why the radical middle finds him refreshing. Not an iota of him is politically correct, he plays by no rules of comity or civility, he genuflects to no party or institution, he is unafraid of and antagonistic toward the media, and he challenges the conventional wisdom of both parties, which holds that there is no real cost to illegal immigration and to trade with China.” – Matthew Continetti/Washington Free Beacon

“Most of those who like Donald Trump will not vote for him next year. But they sure do love the guy. He’s giving them what they want — a fight against Washington few of the other candidates are willing to wage.” – Erick Erickson

“The U.S. Department of Justice announced plans to investigate the group that produced undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood employees admitting that they harvest and sell organs ripped from the bodies aborted babies.” – The Federalist

“In that letter, Planned Parenthood seeks to get in front of further scandal by speculating what it thinks will be on future damaging investigative videos by CMP. This includes an admission that CMP investigators may have video of actual tissue procurement at a PP facility:” – LifeSite News

“What makes those numbers even more amazing is that veterans are outliers on this. Among the wider public, McCain’s favorable rating is 40/45 while Trump’s is 34/60. You tell me: Why don’t vets prefer McCain, even as the lesser of two evils? One theory is that veterans tend to be conservative, which means they have many years of political grievances against ol’ Maverick piled up. If that were true, though, we should see McCain struggling among Republicans generally. We don’t.” – Hot Air

“Zachary Keck, Managing Editor of the National Interest, posed the following questions to 2016 Republican Presidential candidate Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.” – The National Interest

“Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a blistering floor speech Friday accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) of lying to him over a deal to vote on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.” – The Hill

“The murder of Kathryn Steinle on the Embarcadero in San Francisco by an illegal alien is the most familiar example of a crime committed by an alien. But an unreleased internal report by the Texas Department of Public Safety reveals that aliens have been involved in thousands of crimes in Texas alone, including nearly 3,000 homicides.” – J. Christian Adams/PJ Media