Governor John Bel Edwards will be heading back to Washington, DC this week where he is scheduled to meet with more congressional leaders and others regarding getting more money to Louisiana for flood recovery. He sent another letter to the White House asking for an additional $800 million dollars, on top of the $2 billion he was originally seeking. He says the new amount is for infrastructure projects and mental health support for flood victims.

Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden is under scrutiny for being in Taiwan last week rather than speaking before Congress with the mayors of Central, Denham Springs and Walker about flood relief. Holden says he went out of the country to attend a forum about building sustainable port cities. He says he did not go to Washington D.C. because his office was not invited:
cut 12 (09) “this area”
He says he’s always in communication with his staff and Baton Rouge isn’t going to fall apart just because he’s not physically here.

Baton Rouge Police are investigating the case of a woman who claims she accidentally shot and killed her boyfriend during a fight. Sgt. Don Coppola says 25-year-old Larriana Hughes told cops she was being slapped by her boyfriend, 27-year-old Christopher Payne, and as she was trying to put a gun back into a car it went off by mistake…:
CUT 4 (11) “the firearm”
She is charged with negligent homicide.

AAA says the switch to winter blend gasoline has caused gas prices to fall nationwide for 12 straight days. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular in Louisiana is now $2.00, down about 4 cents from the prior week.