LOUISIANA

“Two gunmen robbed customers and employees inside Atchafalaya Restaurant Thursday night (Sept. 24), New Orleans police reported. The gunmen entered the restaurant, 901 Louisiana Ave., around 10 p.m., police said, and ordered the restaurant’s customers and employees to hand over their wallets. The gunmen then left the restaurant.” – NOLA.com

“The state Board of Regents has approved budgets for Louisiana’s public colleges and universities, but warned schools that they continue to face the threat of spending cuts. ‘There is a looming budget shortfall that we all have to face,’ Regents Chairman Roy Martin said at Thursday’s board meeting.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“In a double-barrel legal maneuver, Sheriff Marlin Gusman this week sued Mayor Mitch Landrieu twice in state court, accusing him of failing to fully finance the Sheriff’s Office for the rest of the year and thwarting Gusman’s attempts to give raises to his deputies.” – NOLA.com

“Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s presidential campaign believes establishment Republicans have a plan in place to set up a matchup between Donald Trump and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Chief strategist Curt Anderson said he thinks Republicans have structured the debates in a way to eliminate candidates the people deserve to see.” – Washington Examiner

“An appellate court upholds the disqualification of convicted former lawmaker Derrick Shepherd from the Oct. 24 ballot. The state Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal agreed with Jefferson parish District Attorney Paul Connick, who argued that Shepherd is ineligible to run as a convicted felon.” – Fox 8 Live

“Gov. Bobby Jindal’s chief of staff got caught Thursday afternoon by the security bollards at the State Capitol. Melissa Mann was driving into the parking lot behind the State Capitol when the steel poles that restrict entrance came up and wrecked the front of her Dodge Durango SUV.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“U.S. Sen. David Vitter’s campaign and affiliated PAC are said to have a combined $7.1 million available to spend on the governor race — about $1.5 million more than the other three major candidates and four PACs participating in the election combined.” – NOLA.com

“Yard signs, car magnets, stickers and bookmarks urging people to vote ‘Yes! Oct. 24’ are popping up around East Baton Rouge Parish, as library supporters press their case to renew the property tax that underwrites the parish system and its 14 branches.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“LSU is seeking to end its deal with the private operator of its Shreveport and Monroe hospitals.” – Lake Charles American Press

“Yesterday, long-lost New Orleans Saints safety Jairus Byrd was on the practice field. It’s true.” – New Orleans Gambit

NATIONAL

“Speaker John Boehner told GOP lawmakers on Friday he will resign at the end of October. The embattled Ohio Republican will resign from both his Speakership and his House seat, he told GOP lawmakers at a closed-door conference meeting.” – The Hill

“What happens in politics when one side is absolutely committed to its principles, willing to fight for them no matter the cost, and the other side reflexively surrenders on every issue? We have modern-day Washington.” – Ted Cruz/POLITICO

“Let me ask a question that I can’t believe I need to ask: Does McConnell have even 51 votes to defund Planned Parenthood? He didn’t today, but maybe that’s because Ayotte and Collins meant it when they said they didn’t want to bother with show votes on a bill that was doomed to be filibustered by Democrats. If McConnell uses reconciliation, there’s no filibuster; Ayotte’s and Collins’s votes will be crucial to forming a majority. I’m assuming they’ll fall in line just because, even for the Senate GOP fail caucus, it’s unthinkable that they’d crap the bed by not getting a simple majority to put this bill on Obama’s desk. Right?” – Hot Air

“Right now, our government is filled with eunuchs and would-be tyrants, all out to increase power for themselves and do so at the expense of the people. This is not a partisan issue, as both Democrats and Republicans share responsibility in increasing the size and scope of government to give themselves as much power as possible. Because of this, an insurrection not unlike the Yellow Scarves Rebellion (minus the scarves and alleged magic) has taken hold in the form of populist movements within the presidential cycle we find ourselves in.” – Joe Cunningham/RedState

“Today Admiral Michael Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, testified before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on cybersecurity. Senator Tom Cotton asked him two questions, the second of which was brilliant: 1) Are the communications of the president’s most senior advisors, including those that may be unclassified, a ‘top priority for foreign intelligence services?’ and 2) What would he think if he learned that Russia’s Foreign Minister, or Iran’s, was conducting official business on a homebrew server?” – Power Line

“The biggest liability Hillary Clinton faces in getting the Democratic nomination may be that too many of her fellow Democrats don’t believe she is a good liar.” – John Fund/National Review

“On the strength of his personal appeal and his overall stand on the issues, Bernie Sanders has opened up big lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, while likely Democratic primary voters are split on whether Joe Biden should jump into the race.” – WMUR

“In Latakia, Assad’s seaside bastion province, the growing Russian military involvement has received a warm welcome.” – Yahoo! News

Here are the facts: In the five years that Fiorina was at Hewlett-Packard, the company lost over half its value. It’s true that many tech companies had trouble during this period of the Internet bubble collapse, some falling in value as much as 27 percent; but HP under Fiorina fell 55 percent. During those years, stocks in companies like Apple and Dell rose. Google went public, and Facebook was launched. The S&P 500 yardstick on major U.S. firms showed only a 7 percent drop. Plenty good was happening in U.S. industry and in technology.” – Jeffrey Sonnenfeld/POLITICO

“The Environmental Protection Agency over the past decade has spent a whopping $92.4 million to purchase, rent, install and store office furniture ranging from fancy hickory chairs and a hexagonal wooden table, worth thousands of dollars each, to a simple drawer to store pencils that cost $813.57.” – Washington Times

“Jeb Bush said here Thursday night that Republicans can win more African American voters by emphasizing a positive message that does not involve promising ‘free stuff,’ a remark that bore echoes of comments by Mitt Romney that drew criticism in 2012.” – Washington Post