House lawmakers return to the floor this afternoon at 1:30 with less than 12 hours to go in the special session. The magic number is $99 million at this point when it comes to rainy day dollars to be used for the $304 million dollar deficit. 70 votes are needed. The special session must end at midnight.

A survey from the National Retail Federation finds many consumers plan to put their tax refunds into savings rather than spend. Denham Springs financial planner Matt Kennedy says we’ve seen this trend over the past eight years ever since the 2008 stock market crash…:
Cut 6 (12) “our mind”
48-percent of Americans plan to put their money into savings, second only to last year’s record high of 49-percent.

Demarcus Cousins, aka Boogie, was officially introduced today as one of the newest members of the New Orleans Pelicans. The All-Star comes to The Big Easy from Sacramento and practiced with the Pels for the first time today. Cousins says he’s excited about the opportunity to hit the court with fellow All-Star Anthony Davis…:
CUT 9 (10) “is scary”
Cousins will suit up with the Pelicans for the first time tomorrow night against Houston in the Smoothie King Center.