BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer A new report from LSU researchers says the long-running drought and recent bouts of record high temperatures have inflicted nearly $1.7 billion in losses to the state’s agricultural and timber industries. Soybean farmers were the hardest hit, suffering more than $322 million in losses, followed by sugar cane growers, who lost about $274 million, the report said. The losses amount to about a third of the annual economic production of the state's ag and forestry sectors. Babies in Louisiana die at some of the highest rates in the developed world, and one of the causes is the fact that the state’s teen birthrate is double the national average. Children born to mothers between ages 15 to 19 are nearly twice as likely to die in their first year of life as those born to mothers between 30 and 34, according to national data. And many teenagers go without prenatal care because they are too scared to tell anyone they are pregnant. Those attending the Downtown Christmas Pilgrimage, held annually since 1996, visit six churches, stopping off at each one to take in a brief festive musical performance. The event, one of Baton Rouge's most beloved Christmas traditions, will once again liven up downtown this Sunday. | 