Former Saints safety Darren Sharper pleads guilty to drug and rape charges Friday in New Orleans federal court. The 39-year-old Sharper pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to distribute drugs with the intent to commit rape. Legal analyst Chick Foret says Sharper’s “global” plea deal limits his sentence to 9 years, which Judge Jane Milazzo can choose to accept or reject…:
CUT 9 (10) “August 20th”
Under his “global” plea deal, Sharper will plead guilty in state court to two counts of forcible rape and one count of simple rape.

The US Army has agreed to pick up the tab on the burning of the 15-million pounds of M6 propellant improperly stored at Camp Minden in Webster Parish. The Environmental Protection Agency says this should open the door for the Louisiana National Guard to sign a contract to dispose of the materials. The National Guard received the notification in a letter from the Department of Justice.

This weekend is the Louisiana Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday which means you don’t have to pay the 4% state sales tax on storm preparedness items. LDR spokeswoman Kizzy Payton says eligible items include batteries, generators, flashlights and more..:
CUT 7 (08) “citizens purchase”

And an Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge has decided to keep the public out of the court proceedings that will determine if Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson is competent to make important business decisions regarding his professional sports franchises. Several media outlets argued that the public should have access, since Benson’s teams receive hundreds of millions of dollars in state money.