 | BY CHAD CALDER | Staff writer |
Cardell Hayes pleads guilty: Less than a week before he was to be retried for the killing of former Saints star defensive lineman Will Smith, Cardell Hayes agreed to plead guilty to a manslaughter charge. The plea deal matches the charge he was convicted of in 2016, but he was facing the possibility of life in prison if convicted of murder. Hayes got a new trial following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that outlawed non-unanimous jury verdicts for those convicted by them who had not yet exhausted their appeals.
Cantrell strikes back: Mayor LaToya Cantrell unloaded on the New Orleans City Council on Wednesday, singling out two at-large members by name and blaming them for a toxic political environment that she called "dangerous" and “damaging to people’s soul.” One of those members, JP Morrell, responded by calling the mayor's office a personality cult.
Jazz Fest adds a day: The 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival plans to expand to eight days, getting started a day early in its first week. So mark your calendars for April 25.
Thanks for starting your day with Morning Headlines. Check out all the latest news, sports and entertainment coverage from The Times-Picayune here. Chad | 
