 BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer A man has been booked on a count of second-degree murder in connection with the fentanyl overdose death of a man in Port Allen. It represents a challenge for local prosecutors, but authorities are seeking ways to combat the epidemic in drug use. Law enforcement experts and advocates place much of the blame on the increasing availability of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid like heroin that can be fatal even in miniscule doses. Since 2014, opioid-related deaths have increased 432 percent in Louisiana. Here is the latest.
A grand jury has indicted a Baton Rouge businessman for wire fraud and three counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions for allegedly using federal small business loans to buy himself a new car and wire more than $170,000 overseas. Adolphus Obioha, 64, received a $411,000 small-business loan from the federal government after he applied for aid during the COVID-19 pandemic to rescue his driving school. He faces up to 50 years in prison if he’s convicted.
Add some Hawkeye State pork to the benefits of LSU's 102-85 win over Iowa in the NCAA women's basketball national title game. Gov. Kim Reynolds paid off a friendly wager with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards by shipping a dozen pork chops to Edwards and 1,250 pounds of pork to food banks in the state. Pork barrel politics indeed. | 
