| By DREW BROACH | Deputy metro editor |
THE ROAD TO SPACE: When NASA was sending astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the road to space ran through south Louisiana. When they return there in 2024, more than 50 years after the last Apollo mission, they'll do so in a capsule atop a powerful new rocket — both built at the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans. COASTAL COMEBACK: A new sign that Louisiana’s efforts to restore its barrier islands are succeeding emerged Wednesday when officials announced that sea turtle hatchlings have been spotted on the Chandeleur Islands for the first time in at least 75 years. CONSENT CONFLICT: A federal judge on Wednesday described the New Orleans Police Department’s staffing shortage as a crisis that has shoved the agency off the path to leaving court oversight, and she slammed Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s assertion that a decade-old Justice Department consent decree is endangering officers. Thanks for starting your Thursday with Morning Headlines. Keep up with today's breaking news on NOLA.com. D.B. | 