 BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer After cycling through several candidates, House GOP members finally found someone they could all stand behind: Rep. Mike Johnson, a conservative Republican from Benton in northwest Louisiana. Johnson was supported by every one of the 220 Republicans present to win the speakership, something the three previous GOP contenders couldn’t manage. He needed 215 votes to claim the gavel. Johnson seemed to have fewer committed opponents than anyone else. Also: Who is Mike Johnson? What to know about new speaker of the U.S. House from Louisiana.
In the midst of the chaotic Interstate 55 pileup on Monday, Darla Bankston, a Hammond nurse who wasn’t injured in the crashes, immediately stopped her car and ran back toward the jumble of twisted wreckage to help whoever she could. Lucky for Robert Hall, Bankston and two other "angels" helped save him after he was involved in one of the dozens of chain-reaction crashes on the south and northbound lanes of the highway. Read the story about everyday heroes here.
At the unassuming Woodlawn Acres park in Baton Rouge, it's all about cricket. The ground is home to the Baton Rouge Cricket Club, Louisiana's capital city's biggest cricketing club. On weekends throughout the year, cricket club players don bright blue uniforms and compete against teams throughout the state and further afield. The club is made up of players from different backgrounds, with different ages and skill levels. | 
