| By DREW BROACH | Deputy metro editor |
PARKING PROBLEMS: Trying to quell the furor over widespread car break-ins outside New Orleans Saints and Pelicans home games, City Council members are moving to put the burden on parking lot owners. A council committee on Wednesday endorsed a proposal requiring owners to staff lots with on-site attendants during large events. VIRUS PERSISTS: Louisiana is facing a post-holiday increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and it might get worse in the coming weeks amid Carnival activities and a new, highly transmissible coronavirus variant that is gaining steam. For more health and health care news, subscribe to our free Louisiana Checkup newsletter, emailed weekly. SCALISE IN CHARGE: After a week of chaos and 15 votes to choose a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the slim Republican majority led by Louisiana’s Steve Scalise took firm hold of the lower chamber this week to pass controversial measures on party-line votes. Thanks for starting your Thursday with Morning Headlines. Catch the latest news all day on NOLA.com. D.B. | 