| BY CHAD CALDER | Staff writer |
Thanks for starting your day with Morning Headlines. Here are some of today's top stories. Gov. Jeff Landry has ordered Louisiana's Republican-controlled legislature to convene another special session, this time to reshape the state's criminal justice system through harsher policies governing the convicted and accused. Proposed measures include restricting parole eligibility and sentence reductions for good behavior, changes in the age limit for child offenders and stricter penalties for crimes like carjacking and weapons offenses. James Finn has the details. State legislators issued a critical report Thursday on the proposed $2.5 billion sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. The report came on the same day the state's powerful hospital association voiced its own opposition. Stephanie Riegel has this story on questions about how the deal will affect health insurance premiums — and whether the process has been fair — as well as Blue Cross' response. Just a few years ago, Nyx was one of the biggest parades to roll during Carnival. But after a controversial social media post by its captain in 2020, many members bolted to join other parades, and the all-woman krewe has rolled before increasingly sparse crowds. That trend continued Wednesday night. In other Carnival news, Babylon, Chaos and Muses rolled along the Uptown route, while Symphony rolled in Metairie. You'll find all our photos here. Check out all the latest news, sports and entertainment coverage from The Times-Picayune. Chad | 