The Advocate's Top Headlines

with Jennifer Wadsworth | Assistant metro editor

Good morning. Here's a quick look at today's top headlines.

Suspect's brother shot by deputy

Officers trying to arrest someone suspected of kidnapping wound up fatally shooting his brother Saturday, officials told us. Here's what our reporters were able to find out about the incident by press time. 

A bridge too far

LSU students will have to endure an entire semester without the convenience of the Bob Pettit Boulevard Bridge to take them to and from their favorite Tigerland bars. Crowdfunding for a temporary crossing sputtered over the holiday break, and construction for a permanent replacement probably won't wrap up until summertime. Of course, there's more than one way to get to Tigerland, as Fred's Bar & Grill owner told our reporter Paul Cobler: “It may not be the path of least resistance, but you can still get out there." Let's just hope it doesn't involve climbing barricades or fording Bayou Fountain in makeshift rafts, as some have been wont to do, according to videos memorializing their treks on social media. 

Cold snap

An unusually warm early winter followed by the recent cold snap made things more complicated for Louisiana strawberry growers. Our reporter Terell Wilkins caught up with a farmer in Ponchatoula to find out how he's adapting to the weird weather and what a drawn-out freeze would mean for the state's berry crops.

'They're miracle workers'

Hurricane Ida survivors getting lowballed by insurers for property damage can turn to private attorneys to fight their case — if they can afford it. But there's another, lesser-known option: public adjusters, as Blake Paterson reports in this story, in which one source describes the consumer advocates as "miracle workers."

As always, thanks for reading and have a great rest-of-the-weekend!