The US Senate has decided to shorten its traditional August recess by two weeks, following a request from Senator John Kennedy and other Republicans. Kennedy says he would prefer the entire month of August, but is pleased about the decision. He says they have a lot of work to do including the contentious health care topic.

Qualifying also begins today for the New Orleans Mayoral election. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says what makes this race for the top seat in the Big Easy interesting is that the top story is who isn’t running instead of who is. He says those big names like, Speaker Pro-Tempore Walt Leger, and State Senators JP Morell and Karen Carter Peterson…:
Cut 5 (09) “a surprise”
He says even though the race is wide open, it feels like there’s less interest in the job than in years past.

A fire at an Amite Walmart last weekend caused over a million dollars in damaged according to Sheriff Daniel Edwards. Edwards says 45-year-old Larry Schouest (Sch-west) of Hammond combined chemicals to start the fire. He says Schouest faces multiple charges including aggravated arson, felony theft and criminal damage to property.
Cut 15 (09) “drug habit”

According to a forecast from NOAA, it’s going to be a good season for the brown shrimp harvest in the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Rick Hart with the National Marine Fisheries Service says moderate salinities combined with strong, consistent southerly winds have increased available nursery area and allowed for the greater distribution of juvenile shrimp.
Cut 11 (08) “shrimps”

The harvest is expected to yield 44.2 million pounds, which is above the predicted value for the last two years.